Resilient Hearts
by Disco Prince
Summary: AU St. Rabona's Boarding School is home to Nicholas, a troubled youth. Despite the efforts of his friends to cheer him up, he is depressed. A story of a boy who's life is changed forever by a girl, a story of friendship, love, hate and forgiveness.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One** – The Misadventures of Cynical Boy!

Nicholas had finished unpacking his things. By his standards that meant they were in disastrously dishevelled piles around his bed, his dresser and just about everywhere except for the top of his desk. He exhaled an exasperated sigh before letting himself fall onto the bed he found more inviting than the one he had at _that man's_ place. Saint Rabona's Boarding School was more of a home than his actual home, which Nicholas found to be quite sad – especially because the majority of the students who lived there felt like they were more or less forever bound to stalk the halls like prisoners. He traced the galvanic steps of a fly around his ceiling for several minutes before letting another sigh filled with the same amount of frustration as his last one, as if he were waiting for someone to ask him what he was sighing about. Of course, there was no one there and he was only sighing in such a perturbed manner because he had no other way to vent the object of his perturbation to anyone with even the slightest interest in giving a damn. With a solemn glance, he checked the ugly clock above his roommate's undisturbed bed. The unyielding hands of time seemed to be racing forward, not stopping to consider that maybe there was one lonely, seventeen year old boy who would have wanted it to stop for a day or two, give or take a couple of minutes.

Thanks, father time, for never ceasing to be a raging douche.

Every few seconds his mind showed him pictures of the man they called his father driving home- not twenty minutes after dropping him off- down the same long, winding street he had killed his wife on. Yes, the man had been drunk, but what the hell kind of excuse is that? "Sorry, I didn't mean to, I was totally hammered." Nicholas said out loud, trying to imagine what the drunk would have said when the police had found him. He had been so distraught over losing his mother and at the same time so angry at his father that after all the commotion had died down all that was left was the anger. He had cried his share of tears, and as much as he hated to admit it, he was fed up with being angry too. What was left to feel at that point?

He had been pulled out of school to spend the week with his father so they could –how did the psychiatrist phrase it- _grieve together_. Even then, as he lay on his bed seven days after he had last been on it, he did not understand the purpose of putting two sad people together and literally waiting for them to be happy. Nicholas hated spending time with the drunk even when he had to, so naturally he stayed in the dorms on holidays and in the summer time, something only a handful of students did. He found the large, old stone walls of the massive castle-turned high school comforting, as they were something that had existed for such a long time and still had not been torn down. Maybe it was the reassuring feeling that something would always be there for him to come back to, or the fact that his friends would be there with him, but something made him actually enjoy school. He liked his classes, he liked walking to the dining hall every morning and evening; he liked eating lunch with his friends in the castle's main atrium – his connection to St. Rabona's Boarding School was nothing short of formidable.

It was the mid afternoon, and since most of the students were in class, Nicholas was not expected to return to his normal class schedule until first thing the next day. Sliding off the comfortable bed, he felt his bare feet tap against the mahogany hardwood floor; which was cold to the point where it helped yank him from his contemptuous reverie and direct his attention to the knocks placed on his door.

"Uh, hello?" He asked the silence with staggering frailty, to which he received a muffled reply that shook him deeply to the core. He was expecting Raki, his best friend and conveniently designated roommate to be the first to welcome him back. It appeared he was wrong, and the mounting fear to what stood behind the door was backed up by two uncomfortable outcomes. It could be a faculty member wanting to check up on him, or worse, a girl.

It was a girl.

"Nicholas! You son of a bitch, how's it going?" Helen asked, playfully punching Nicholas in his left arm. She held an apple in her free hand that she turned over to bite as she waited for Nicholas' reply.

"Fine, thanks, I guess." He replied, as Helen strode past him into his room. "Come on in..." He sighed. Helen kicked off her boots and plopped down on Nicholas' bed as if she owned the place. Though the boys and girls at St. Rabona's attended classes together in the main wings of the castle, their dormitories were on opposite ends of the campus grounds, so it was odd and unusual to see a female student around the male dormitories. Oh, and it was subject to penalty, too. Good thing Helen could have cared less about penalties.

"So where in the hell have you been? Hasn't it been about a week?" Helen asked, raising an eyebrow at Nicholas, who still stood in the center of his room rubbing his left arm gently. Had he not told her? No, he was pretty sure he had. Helen was not always one to pay attention, although the two were friends.

"Burying my mother." He said quietly.

"Whoa, Nicky, sorry about that" Helen said, a little caught off guard. "That's pretty mor- OH I remember," She said, kicking her feet into a sitting position on her friend's commandeered bed. "How're you holding up? We can go get drunk if you want – I'm heading over to the pub anyways."

"Thanks, but I'll pass." Nicholas said, as Helen nodded and tossed her apple core at Raki's end of the room. The mere thought of alcohol made him feel the abyss within his heart grow deeper still. The apple core missed the waste bin, but Helen didn't care. "Don't you have class to go to or something?" Nicholas asked.

"Class? Why would I want to go there?" Helen asked with a frightening sense of honesty, "Well, just give me a call if you change your mind, but not after five, I'll probably be churned. It'd be better to call Deneve." She circled her forefinger around her ear to emphasize the point and stood up, standing just a little shorter than Nicholas. As well as being a truant, Helen was a well known rebel amongst their classmates - her torn nylons and frayed kilt practically shouted _BADASS_!

"That's alright; I think I need some time to get my thoughts in order, anyways." Nicholas replied.

"Whatever, Nicky" Helen said, as she made for the door. "Sorry to hear about your mom, the pub anytime!" She closed the door and as it clicked shut, Nicholas groaned irritably. It was not the mention of alcohol that was making him angry, but the pity. He was holding up well enough on his own, he didn't need the pity of others. Of course, being a naturally soft, kind-hearted boy he felt bad for shirking Helen's rare good-will and although it was a little unorthodox, he could accept that she meant well. The room became stifling in almost an instant; there was too much negativity – as if it were escaping from his lungs with every breath. He deduced a walk around the campus was in order. With most of the students in class, he was sure no one would bother him, and if they did he could say he was returning to his dormitory – there was no way he could lose.

After turning the corridor into the main hallway he was surprised to see the most beautiful thing he had seen all day, an empty courtyard. Although the sky was grey and the air rather cold, the stone courtyard was more inviting than any part of the St. Rabona's campus he had been to that day. It was evident that winter was coming, even the grass felt stiff with frost as he walked over it to the large fountain in the middle of the courtyard. The clear water was sprinkled with a thin layer of ice and Nicholas felt a deep chill in his fingers as they pushed past the solid barrier into the water beneath it, the same chill he had felt in his heart when he had heard of what had happened to his mother. His train of thought took sudden solemn turn in the wrong direction as he looked around, realizing just how alone he was in the bitter air, his only confidants being the stone columns outlining the courtyard he stood amongst. He could not talk to the columns; however, as they were too busy fulfilling their purpose of holding up the walls. Just what was his purpose, then? Withdrawing his hand from the icy abyss of the fountain, he exhaled a visible breath and turned to see a female student walking behind the stone columns on the path towards the administration building. With her was Headmistress Ilena, characteristically stern-faced and holding a blue folder in her grip. Both walked silently, as if the silence was louder than they were. Nicholas knew what that blue folder meant – a new student's transcripts. As the two moved behind the columns Nicholas could catch sight of the girl through split seconds as she emerged between the granite pillars before she was hidden away by one of their neighbours.

At that moment, he denounced the empty courtyard as the most beautiful thing he had seen.

He felt his head turn to follow the frail looking girl as she exited the courtyard, but not before turning her head slightly to see him. And then, she smiled. He must have looked so lost, amongst the light beige and grey of the square stood a blond boy wearing a black overcoat and grey pants, like a mistake on a masterpiece painting. He could only sigh as he watched perfection escape him. The courtyard became ugly and unwelcoming, like a beast in disguise revealing its true nature. At that point, Nicholas wanted to go inside and spend the remainder of his day in bed. Maybe that was still an option. To his dismay, the bells chimed from their lofty positions around the campus, marking the end of class. Had he really been out for that long? He doubled backwards and walked in the direction of the boy's dormitories. First there were voices, and Nicholas knew confrontation was unavoidable. Soon after, student began to flood into the halls like ants escaping an ant farm. The crowds engulfed him; he hated feeling like there was no way out, especially when the walls closing in around him were made of students he didn't even like. Suddenly, his sleeve was tugged roughly, pulling him into a hallway with some breathing room. To his relief, it was Raki. His friend's large, optimistic grin was refreshing, especially after spending so much time with people frowning and crying, the mere thought of their faces made Nicholas want to run and hide.

"Nicholas! I'm glad to see you out and about!" Raki said, "When did you get in?"

"Not too long ago," He lied; he tried to pretend he had better things to do than walk around castle campus waiting for someone to talk to him. Both of them laughed a little after he had done so, and Raki shook his head.

"You know, you shouldn't lie like that. You ought to follow the example of a good student like me!" Raki beamed,

"You're kidding." Nicholas replied dryly, "You somehow scrape by with your shirt unbuttoned and your tie not done up – how's the homework coming, Raki?"

"Alright, alright, you win." Raki sighed and admitted defeat. "How are you holding up?"

"...Fine," Nicholas said hesitantly, "But that's going to change if one more person asks me..."

"Hey, I only ask because you're my bro, right?" the brown haired boy said proudly. "I wouldn't ask if I didn't care."

"I know. Thanks, I guess." Nicholas replied. He knew Raki wanted to pry a little more on the specifics of Nicholas' condition, but also knew that Raki was smarter than he looked. Raki was aware of how much Nicholas detested pity, and gave him none. "I'm heading back to the dorms; my classes don't start till tomorrow anyways."

"Seriously?" Raki asked, "Well alright, but don't coop yourself up in your room all night, it's not good for you."

"Being out in the cold all day isn't good for me either."

"Fair enough, I'll come to get you for dinner. I've got to meet with Father Vincent anyways." The friends parted ways, and Nicholas walked up the winding stone staircase towards the entrance to the male dormitories. Raki had been his friend for as far back as he could remember, they used to get in trouble together so often that they eventually started to hang out without having to be seated next to one another in the headmaster's office. Since the day they met, Raki had been there for Nicholas. The feeling of having such a friend was good, but there were some things Raki just could not be counted on for. When Raki told Nicholas he would come to get him for dinner, a mental reminder was set off in Nicholas' head letting him know he had to leave for dinner early so Raki wouldn't feel bad about forgetting.

His cell phone vibrated loosely in his jacket pocket, prompting him to pick it up with the idle threat of vibrating again should he refuse. Whatever would he do if that were to happen? It wasn't like he hadn't ignored calls before, but after the fifth vibration the feeling began to get on Nicholas' nerves. He flipped the front panel of his mobile up and placed the cold metal and plastic monstrosity to his ear. He could hear Helen yelling on the other end but could not make out what she was saying.

"Helen, slow down, what's going on?" She sounded frightened. "Are you okay?"

"No I'm not!" She cried with her words a little messy. Was she drunk? Wait, was she crying? If Nicholas knew her, and he did, she probably fit under both categories. "Deneve can't come down here and I really need help! Nicky, you've got to come meet me!"

"Wha- but, dinner's in thirty minutes..." Nicholas protested, to his reply, a massive, angry wall of shrieking banshee-like noise hit his eardrum like a flying ninja-kick and the other end went dead. She was probably at her usual hangout, the arcade - Helen was about as imaginative as a banana when it came to... just about everything, so Nicholas doubted she would be that hard to find. Donning his scarf, he left his dormitory, walked back down the hall, down the steps, across the courtyard where that new girl had spotted him, through the administration building and out onto the cobblestone street. What was he doing? Helen was not his girlfriend, nor was she able to summon him like a servant boy. Why was he going to meet her? Was it just because she was crying? "When did I turn into such a nice guy?"

The road to Pieta was as cold as it was windy, and Nicholas had to pull his coat as tightly as he could around himself to shield his body from the chill. It was beginning to get dark as well and the people on the road were scarce. Pieta's lights glowed brightly in the distance with an orange aura – candlelight. Pieta was an old city, famous for its wine, art, cheese and its alias: the city of love. It was certainly a romantic looking place, filled with old architecture and stone churches. A long, winding river snaked its way through the city and lead to the mountains where people tended to take boat tours to. Nicholas thought the city was beautiful, but rarely spent time in it due to his unyielding class schedule. He felt a violent shiver move up his spine, nearly causing him to turn around and run back to the castle campus, where it was warm and where Raki would be waiting in the dining hall for him- possibly with some soup. He walked into the outskirts of Pieta just as the sky became a dark grey, the clouds moving out of the way for the moon to shine brightly over the old city. As the dim street lights activated, Nicholas had already made his way into the main part of downtown Pieta.

"Now the arcade should be over here, where the heck is she?" Nicholas groaned miserably in the cold before Helen, who could be seen practically pressing her nose up against the glass window; came outside and flagged him down like a taxi driver. She was still only wearing her 'customized' St. Rabona's uniform with the frayed skirt and striped, torn nylons. Ever the classy cat, she was. "Are you alright, Helen?" So was she drunk?

"Nicky! There you are!" Helen whined, nearly falling on him. Yup, definitely drunk.

"Are you okay?"

"They kicked me out of the bar." she said, sniffling excessively. Whether it was from crying or being stuck in the cold, Nicholas didn't know. The drinking age was not high in Pieta, so the reasons that Helen could have been kicked out of the bar for worried the blond boy a little.

"That better not be what you called me down here for, I can't get you back in." He groaned,

"N-no, don't worry, man!" She said excitedly, grabbing his hand and pulling him into the arcade. "It's like way more serious, way, WAY more serious." The girl could sure navigate a busy arcade well for being under the influence of alcohol, she weaved in an out of crowds of thirteen year old boys and older men, not caring who she swore at before they stopped at a brand new fighting game at the back of the store. "This baby is brand new, doesn't it look way cool?"

"_No."_ Nicholas said to himself. "Yeah, sure does. Now what was all the fuss about?"

"I spent all my money on drinks and now I have no money for game tokens, and this one's expensive!" Deep down, he had known something of such trivial nature was at the bottom of the phone call Helen had sent. He could not even sigh as the look of excitement on Helen's face overpowered his low level of willpower. He had been duped. Reluctantly he paid for some game tokens and was ready to sit down when Helen forced him into one of the game seats. "No way, Nicky, you've gotta play too! Check it out, the game's starting!"

"I'm enthused." Nicholas lied blatantly.

_YOMA-SLAYER. _The game started up, and Helen started slamming away at the keys, to her friend's amazement, like there the world was due to end any minute. He, on the other hand, had no idea what was happening. "So, what is this game about, anyways?"

"Dude, weren't you even watching the intro?" Helen asked, "It's about these hybrid warriors who save towns from shape shifting flesh-eating monsters, it's like a hack and slash." The boy raised an eyebrow before leaning in to assist Helen, although she seemed to be scoring well enough on her own. "Whoa, Nicky you're pretty bad at this." Though the game allowed for two players to act cooperatively, it also had versus mode. However, Nicholas was finding it hard enough to keep up with fighting the computer generated monsters and was in no way ready to face Helen, who appeared to be literally mopping the floor with them.

"...Sorry Helen, I'm just not in the zone right now." That was an understatement. "On the other hand, you're pretty good; you've pretty much doubled my score." The number counter to the right of the screen showed Helen's numbers decimating Nicholas' to the point where he actually felt a little sad.

"I definitely play better with a little bit of booze in me." She said, with a triumphant grin. About an hour had passed and Nicholas' plan to let Helen tire herself out had worked splendidly. After Helen had finally been eaten in the virtual world, (Nicholas had died way earlier) a message prompted her to enter a high scorer's nickname. "Now that's what I'm talkin' about! Wait... what the hell?" Helen had entered her name and was presented with the number twenty-two in large, silver letters. A list of names running all the way up to number one stood before her.

"That's a lot of people, for a brand new machine it looks like this is a popular game." Nicholas said, "There's a lot of girls from our school on this list... that's _all_ there is on this list!"

"Twenty-two? That's bullshit! All these girls have played this game?"

1 RIFUL 6 HILDA 11 CYNTHIA  
2 GALATEA 7 MIRIA 12 ZELDA  
3 ALICIA 8 LILY 13 CLARICE  
4 OPHELIA 9 UNDINE 14 MIATA  
5 RAFAELA 10 VERONICA 15 DENEVE

"And Deneve scored higher than me!" Helen turned around, fed up with reading the rankings. Nicholas wanted to tell her not to worry, that it was just a game, but he didn't feel like having his hands sawed off. It seemed like she was taking _YOMA-SLAYER_ pretty seriously, as did all the other girls – how else had they scored so high? The whole thing made Nicholas feel feeble as he hadn't even made the rankings, though perhaps that was best. At least he would not have to worry about being jumped and beaten in the halls at school by an angry gang of girls. Some of the names on the list he recognized, like Riful, Galatea, and Deneve but that was not to say he knew them at all. Deneve was Helen's best friend, that was all he knew about her, and Galatea was about as enigmatic as they came, but Riful, well, everyone knew about her.

"Don't tell me you're going to train on this thing." Nicholas yawned, but he already knew the answer.

"Fuck, course I am!" Helen said, folding her arms across her chest, "I'm gonna fight my way to number one! I better write these names down..." Helen trailed off and rummaged through her bag. "Nicky, you got a pen?" She had scribbled down some names on a separate piece of paper and shoved into Nicholas' hands.

"What's this for?"

"You've got to help too, find out as much as you can on these bee-otches; I've got a lot of training to do." Helen smirked, "And no slacking, you can be my like, coach or something."

"Wouldn't Deneve suit this position a little more? She _is_ the captain of the girl's soccer team."

"You can get Raki to help, too." She wasn't listening. The worst part of it was that Raki would be totally into this kind of thing. It was right up his alley, so to speak.

She was nearly nodding off when he proposed they head back to the campus before they both received detention. "Alright, alright, you win." Helen said, as they stood before the door leading outside. It was pitch-black out, too dark for even the moon's light to reach the ground where the teenagers stood. Nicholas removed his jacket and placed it over Helen's shoulders, patting her on her right one before walking up the street. "What's this for?" Helen asked, referring to Nicholas' heavy coat. It was hilariously large on her thin frame and had its sleeves covering her hands, the coat reached past her kilt, but in the cold weather it was anything to complain about.

"It'll keep you warm."

"I didn't ask for it, man, chivalry's dead." Helen said, trudging up the hill after her friend. "I don't need it; it's not that cold out, y'know?" By now, Helen had more or less sobered up to a decent level, where a normal conversation was possible without her attempting to throw a punch or two. "God, you're always treating me like such a girl, it's totally weird."

"Helen, you _are_ a girl." And an attractive one at that, despite her 'badass' image, and because of that he would have felt twice as bad for making her walk all the way back to castle campus in the freezing cold. Of course, he would never be able to think of Helen as anything more than a good friend, but that did not mean he was forbidden to think she was good-looking. "I don't want you to catch a cold or something, come on; I don't want to go too far past curfew." Helen blushed a little and was oddly silent for a few minutes as they left Pieta's main gate and were swallowed by the dark of night.

"I can hardly see anything, how do you know where you're going?"

"Here." Nicholas replied quietly, and held his hand out behind him. Helen took it without hesitation and matched his pace, walking beside him. "You look pretty tired, are you sure it's a good idea to play that game as much as I know you're planning to?"

"Look, it's not as if I go to class a lot anyways, I need something to vent my frustration about being holed up in that prison of a school." Helen said, "Besides, if all those other girls somehow played that game and scored higher than me, I want to be able to beat them and brag about it." Nicholas only smiled as they continued the cold walk through the black night, crossing streets and watching the rarely seen cars drive by.

"... So how did it feel...?" Helen asked a little hesitantly, "When you found out about your mom?" Where the hell did that come from? Helen and Nicholas never talked like this; he was thrown off and surprised. Never the less, he tried to answer truthfully.

"I don't know." Nicholas said, "Just... heavy." When he had received the call from the authorities he had become angry, thinking someone was playing a joke. He doubted Helen could understand how hard he prayed every night for time to reverse to a world where that would be a reality, where his father didn't drink like he did, where his mother were still alive. "It's not important now; nothing I say can change anything anyways..." The air was heavy and Nicholas' serious green eyes were focused on the road ahead when Helen stopped beside him, dragging his hand and forcing him to stop as well. "Helen, we don't have time-" Nicholas began, turning around to see his friend looking serious, a face he doubted he had ever seen on her before.

"You're right, Nicky, I _am_ a girl, and no one can read a guy better than a girl." Helen said, positively scaring Nicholas – she was analyzing him, trying to tell him everything the psychiatrist had said earlier. She saw straight through him, that his confidence was fake - that he was still grieving inside and that the pain was obvious.

"Are you going to tell me you know how this feels?" Nicholas asked bitterly, he didn't expect her to answer.

"Well yeah, _dipshit_, why else would I be prying like this?" Helen asked, "You know me better than that, Nicky. Of course I know how it feels! Why do you think I can get away with all the crazy shit I do?" Nicholas was frozen, not from the cold, but Helen's words as she stood there with his hand in hers.

"No..."

"That's right; there isn't anyone to give a damn!" Helen said, "My whole family deserted me when I was young, my old man couldn't even hang on to his own life for my sake."

"But... I never knew," Nicholas stammered, finding it hard to articulate his sentences. So that was the how and why she ended up at St. Rabona's, a boarding school must have been the only option. Knowing Helen, she would have hated staying with a foster family, she would have thought it was all fake and for show.

"At least your mom wanted to be with you, so don't say that it's not important!" Helen said, her words becoming shaky, "It makes all the difference when they're gone, because you know she loved you!" Helen's grip on Nicholas' hand was starting to hurt, and it made Nicholas feel pathetic, his problems felt like they were drastically blown out of proportion, like they were nothing compared to what Helen was feeling. Deneve was probably the only person she had told about her family, all the same, Nicholas wished he had never heard it. He wished Helen had never had to go through all that. "At least someone gave a damn about you... at least you know what it's like to be cared for..."

"... Helen, you should know too." Nicholas said to his friend as she kept her eyes focused on the ground between them. There was enough light to see tears in her eyes, a sight Nicholas had not wanted to see. He was reminded just how cold it was and stepped closer to Helen. Tomboyish as she was, he got the feeling that she wanted to be held once and a while. He pulled her close to him as she cried, her tears sliding off her face and striking his heavy black jacket, though they probably froze before that point. "I give a damn."

"I know" Helen sniffed and tried to smile, "So, I guess; if you ever need to like... talk or something, I can listen."

"Are you sure? Listening has never really been your thing." Nicholas smiled, as Helen squeezed him tightly, punched him in the gut and let go in almost one motion. "Thank you, Helen. I'm sorry I've been so grouchy tonight."

"You're always like that, dude." Helen chirped, dragging Nicholas up the cobblestone walkway. "But it's alright; I know you've got my back. Now hurry it up, gimpy, didn't you say you wanted to make it back before curfew?" The long walk back to castle campus felt a lot shorter and not as cold. When the two teenagers finally arrived at the massive wooden gates, they discovered they were lucky enough to have made it back before curfew. "Thanks for the jacket, Nicky. Maybe I did need it after all. I don't want to see any slacking on the job I've given you, report back to me by mid day tomorrow if you find any info on those ranked girls from _YOMA-SLAYER_."

"Um, sure... Have a good night, Helen." Helen waved and walked up the hallway in the direction of the girls dormitories. Nicholas could hardly believe it, was he in a good mood? Maybe all he needed to do was talk after all. As entered the male dormitory corridor, he stopped at his room, number three-cubed, and took a moment to try and convince himself that the room next to the ice machine wasn't so bad. What the hell was he thinking? He could hear the goddamn thing all night, especially when the jocks from the football team would get ice for their water bottles in the morning. He prayed to God their early morning practice would be cancelled the next day and opened his door, to find his two best friends lounging in his room.

"Hey, was wondering when you'd drop in!" Raki chirped, waving his indie magazine over his head like a zealot displaying his flag. Across from him on his bed in the corner of the room sat Isley, casually strumming his acoustic guitar. Isley was in his senior year at St. Rabona's but remained a close friend to Raki and Nicholas, and an irreplaceable coach for tough situations, especially with girls.

"How are you feeling?" Isley asked as Nicholas blushed, "How was your date?"

"It wasn't like that." Nicholas replied grouchily, ignoring his friend's first question. He tossed his soaking wet jacket over the back of the chair at his desk. He sat down on the floor and leaned his back up against his bed, with Raki leaning over him with an apologetic look on his face.

"Hey, sorry about dinner," Raki began, "I was going to come up to remind you but Clare started talking to me-"

"By that, he means he saw her and stalked her for a few minutes until she threatened to sever his arms below the biceps." Isley interrupted, smiling back at Raki with a set of charmingly white teeth.

"What the hell! You wanna let me finish?" Raki shot back, turning to Nicholas, who had an obvious look on his face – he didn't care. "But guys, this time she was totally into me, she like, aw, Nicholas why do you have to make that face? It's totally ruining my Clare-vibe."

"Raki, what's the most positive thing she's said to you in the last week?" Nicholas asked, as Isley chuckled and set his guitar down beside the bed he sat on. Raki seemed to ponder for several seconds.

"She said, 'Leave me alone, or I'll just might break your kneecaps and make you eat them." He then admitted proudly.

"... How is that positive?" Nicholas asked, while Isley said nothing.

"She said she _just might_ break my kneecaps, not that she definitely would." The brown haired boy smiled. "I'd let that girl break my kneecaps anyday."

"Raki, to be honest, I'm worried about you." Nicholas warned, "She's an attractive girl, but..."

"Hey man, I don't diss the girls you like." Raki replied, folding his arms across himself, "In fact, I've always supported you in your endeavours with the opposite sex."

"... No you haven't." But neither friend was listening.

"Come to think of it, when was the last time you had an interest in a girl?" Isley asked a little out of nowhere.

"I don't have the brain capacity for women right now." Nicholas said with a grand sense of absolution,

"Well, come to a show sometime soon, I know you'll meet someone you like once you loosen up a bit," Isley said, "It's been forever since you've been to one of the band's shows." His band, _Awakened, _was popular amongst their age group and played a lot of shows in Pieta. Isley was talented with a guitar and a great vocalist, not to mention the girls of St. Rabona's thought he was the clichéd cat's pyjamas. "Sleep on it, I'll see you two in the morning." Isley closed the door and hit the lights, leaving only the two bedside lamps on.

Nicholas tucked himself into his bed, a clear, friendly reminder for Raki to get the hell off his leg space. "I'm going to sleep," He said, and as Raki slid off the bed he set down his magazine.

"Hey, Nicky," Raki began.

_"Uh oh." _He thought.

"Did you mean it when you said Clare might not be the right girl?" Raki, despite his hyperactive tendencies he did have a serious side. He looked serious, and almost afraid, as if Nicholas' words could physically hurt him. Nicholas had to think for a second: Clare was not a bad girl, she was diligent and hard working, but that was where Raki and her clashed.

"No, I think you should do what you want." Nicholas said, "You don't need to ask."

"Thanks, Nicky." Raki said, "Are you staying up for a bit?"

"I suppose so."

"I totally saw you and Helen cuddling outside, by the way." Raki smirked like a confident super sleuth,

"Goodnight." Nicholas groaned, and hit the light switch. He prayed classes the next day would not be awkward, uncomfortable and unpleasant, but knowing his luck they most likely would be.

*************************  
_AUTHOR'S NOTE_

_So this is chapter one! A few ends to tie up, the city of Pieta in this fic could be compared to Paris, France, or even a busier Tours, France. Think Notre-Dame cathedral for the architecture of the school, lots of wide archways and stone pillars and such. There are obvious out-of character moments, but hey, this is a fanfic after all... there will be more in character moments as the story progresses and new characters introduced... _

_Ready for part two?  
Will Raki ever grow a moustache?  
Will Helen learn her drum solo before the big show?  
Will Nicholas get the stick out of his butt and have some fun...?_

_... Probably not. Thanks for reading!_


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two – The Mouse**

The stone pillars in the old wing by the atrium stood out to Flora, as she had passed them the day before they had struck a chord within her. An object so old that still stood, after many years never failing to hold up the roof it had been built to support. Flora had never known anything like that; her whole life had been about moving from one place to another like the way a spilt glass of water moves in all directions without a true destination. Running her small, pale hand down the cracks in the pillar with admiration she felt the cold winter chill sting her bare legs and face. Knee-high socks weren't the best protection against the cold weather, and whoever had designed the St. Rabona's girl's uniform needed to seriously reconsider their career choices. Oh well, at least they got the cardigan right – it wasn't overly warm, but it was better than the light fabric collared shirt on its own. She was – to her delight – completely alone, standing in an old courtyard. She wondered what it had been used for when it had been built all those years ago, along with the rest of the old wing. In her process of wondering, she wondered why she was up so early before classes. It was her first full day of classes and she was nervous about being late, she wanted to get a better understanding of the campus, she wanted someone to show her where the bathrooms were – there were a lot of things on her mind.

She glanced down the open corridor to see two girls who were possibly older than her; striding confidently down the stone path towards her, gossiping idly. Flora felt very small and it was probably evident to the other girls as well, whose eyes both slid snake-like to capture Flora in their gaze. She tried to smile in a polite manner, using one acceptable for meeting new people. The advancing girls smiled back, but there was something wrong -something almost _sinister_- about their smiles... it was as if they were up to something. Immediately, Flora was intimidated by the over-abundant confidence flowing from her pursuers, the impossibly short kilts and open blouses said all she needed to know: these two were trouble.

"Luciela, won't you look at her" The one with the long single braid said while still holding her awkward smile. It was as if her smile did not fit, like it was meant for someone else. From the vibe Flora was getting from this girl, she would not have been surprised if it had belonged to someone else. "I think she's new." Luciela, the more _avant-garde _one of the two twirled her long pigtails in her fingers with anticipation until they stood close to Flora, causing her to back into a stone pillar.

"And she's cute, too." Luciela grinned through a perfect set of white teeth, "Ophelia, your ability to sense fresh meat from a mile away never ceases to amaze me." Flora stared back in horror at the two girls; they stood about foot taller than her and were probably stronger as well, leaving her no room to run. Flora had always been called frail, like she was delicate and made of glass. She guessed that meant she was transparent as well, because Ophelia and Luciela could see through her without even trying.

"I aim to please." Ophelia snickered. She was the one who actually frightened Flora, the other, Luciela was more like a cat playing with a mouse she would rather tickle to death than eat. Nevertheless, the pigtailed girl's attempt at being cute was unnerving. "Come here; let's have a look at you..." Ophelia's rough hand curled around her chin and turned the new girl's face towards her. Only as she inspected the new girl did Flora notice how sharp her facial features were, not to mention the tips of her ears. They were pointed at the ends, and they did nothing but add to her already threatening appearance.

"W-what are you doing?" Flora stammered, her hands feeling around the cold pillar she leaned against for something to hold on to. Never in her life had she undergone something so strange, she had been picked on in class at her old academy, but that was a natural thing for the smartest girl in class. No one had ever become physical with her in such a strange manner. "Please... let me go!"

"No need to get defensive..." Luciela purred, curling her curvy body into Flora's right side, "What's your name, little mouse?"

"F-Flora... I'm Flora!" She was sweating now despite the cold weather. The two girls' silver eyes moving playfully about her face was enough to heat her up. She felt herself becoming faint, and her vision began to blur at the edges.

"That's sweet; you've got some real _potential_, Flora." Luciela said, "Ophelia and I will have to tell Riful about you..."

"Riful won't be interested in this little mouse." Ophelia said, "Listen up, the first thing a new girl here needs to know is her place in the great scheme of things... and who's in charge."

"O-okay!" Flora said, pressing herself further into the pillar at her back. She didn't care that it hurt so long as it moved her another millimetre away from the seductress and her imposing friend.

"We're with Riful, and right now, she's queen" Luciela continued after Ophelia, "So that means you'd do best to either do what we say..."

"Or stay out of our way." Ophelia finished. "Got it, mouse?"

"Y-yes! Please, please let me go!" Flora could feel Luciela's hot breath invading her ear, the feeling of which was making her queasy. Just then, her legs went weak – she would have fallen to them if Luciela did not have her arm locked between her rather uncomfortably endowed breasts. Oh how she would have traded anything for the power and strength to resist and fight back, she had been so easily subdued!

"Isn't it a bit early for you two to be doing this?" a firm voice asked from the end of the hallway. The two girls released Flora, letting her sink to her knees and looked down the path. "Headmistress Ilena is heading this way, so I suggest you move along unless you want to explain yourselves." Ophelia snorted at Flora's defender, and Luciela took her friend's arm.

"You bitch; I like to think I'm pretty good at seeing through an amateur bluff like _that_."

"I'm sure you do." The new arrival smirked, letting a silence take over the conversation. After several seconds Luciela began tugging on Ophelia's arm. Flora trembled uneasily at their feet as the two girls finally backed off.

"Phelia, come on, let's go!"

"Alright, alright." Ophelia sighed, as they turned their backs on the two girls, "Watch your back, mouse." And with that, the succubae disappeared around the corner into the old wing. The girl who had defended Flora turned around and walked back the way she had come, causing Flora to spring to her feet, school bag in hand and run after her. She had single handily put an end to the most uncomfortable moment in Flora's sixteen year old life, she could not let her saviour just walk off.

"Um, excuse me, excuse me please!" Flora piped up from behind the serious looking girl as they walked through the administration building. "Miss?"

"Why are you following me?" The girl asked, turning to face her. Flora stood wide eyed in the presence of her rescuer and gulped down her nerves for another sentence.

"I just wanted to thank you... it's my first day, so..."

"Then don't thank me. I didn't do it for you; it's my job to look out for first years." The rescuer said, "Plus, those girls just get on my nerves."

"I'm not a first year..." Flora said, earning a surprised glance from the older girl. "I'm in the eleventh grade." Flora knew she looked younger than she was... but to be mistaken for a first year?

"Eleventh grade?" She asked, "But I'm in the eleventh grade. Wouldn't I have noticed you?"

"I'm a transfer student..." Flora answered meekly, "Can I ask your name?"

"My name's not important."

"It is! You helped me, and I want to thank you properly, so..." She said frantically, "I _need_ to thank you properly." Her saviour gave her a glance as if to say '_whatever, I give up' _and stuck out her hand. A hand larger and more womanlike than Flora's, but she took it without hesitation.

"Call me Clare."

"Thank you, Clare, I'm Flora. It's great to finally meet someone." Flora could see the look in Clare's eyes and knew it well. Pity. Flora did not really mind, after all it was attention, right? Clare looked as if she was about to turn and walk away, but something was obviously stopping her from leaving Flora all alone.

"Do... you need any help finding your classroom?"

"Kind of, it's arithmetic, and I was told it was this way." Flora said, "Through the administration building, take a left at the hallway and go upstairs." She repeated proudly, "But after that I get lost."

"I have the same class, so I'll take you." Clare said, turning and walking forward. Flora hopped to a close stride at the girl's side, eager to stay close like she would lose her first friend if she took her eyes of her. "For future reference, stay away from Ophelia and Luciela, they're just Riful's followers."

"Thanks. And who's this Riful girl?"

"You really are new... aren't you?" Clare asked with a thin smile. Flora could not help but feel stupid, she had been told she might find it difficult to settle in with a grade a year older than her, and even the friendly students had an air of arrogance about them. However, Flora's stature did not affect her determination, which was hell-bent on making her situation at St. Rabona's work out. "Riful's the queen b-" A couple of teachers passed Clare with smiles on their faces before she could finish her sentence.

"Like the queen bee of a hive?"

"I was going to say queen _bitch_, but whatever, that works too." Clare mumbled, "People call the group she pretty much commands the _Claymores –_ it's a reference to the St. Rabona's crest."

"You seem well informed" Flora said happily, "I'm glad I ran into you!"

"If its information you want, then Galatea's the girl you want to go to." Clare advised, "She's the resident spy, a living, breathing gossip file cabinet."

"I'm not really interested in gossip..." Flora admitted, to Clare's obvious relief.

"Good, that's all Claymore territory anyways." As the two girls ascended the stone steps, a male voice boomed down the hallway ahead of them liked a foghorn, and it was about as pleasant as one.

"CLARE! What a coincidence!" Raki shouted, panting upon reaching her. "I didn't know you took this hallway, so do I!"

"Raki, I see you here every morning." Clare said, "Kindly leave us alone unless you'd like me to remove your shoes and feed them to you." Flora looked shocked and squealed behind Clare as Raki leaned to one side to see behind her. She clutched Clare's back suddenly, causing the older girl to yelp in surprise.

"Who's this?" Raki asked, ignoring Clare's threat as he had done countless times before. The surprised and youthful look on his face told Flora he wasn't going to be trouble. "Is she new?"

"Her name is Flora, and yes, she's new." Clare said, pushing Raki to the side as she pulled Flora behind her into the classroom. "Try to ignore him, he stalks me." Clare said irritably. She sat down in an open seat and motioned for Flora to sit next to her.

"Are you sure...?" Flora asked,

"What, you've got other people to sit with?" Clare asked, as Flora blushed and sat down. Immediately she produced her three-ring binder and calculator, and subsequently lined up her pencils from shortest to longest with lightning speed. Clare responded by planting her face into her hand with a drastic sigh. "Oh, that's Galatea. You don't usually have to worry about her, she's more or less neutral, but she'll deal with anyone regardless of allegiance." Clare motioned to a girl of breathtaking beauty, moving gracefully past the desks like a dancer on the stage. Her long, platinum hair caused her to stand out, even amongst the predominance of blonds in Pieta. Galatea's path drastically altered to the end of the classroom where Flora sat with Clare, and she slid herself on the edge of their conjoined table.

"You're new." Galatea said with a simple smile, something everyone seemed to be good at. Everyone smiled, and all their smiles were natural with the exception of Ophelia's. "I can tell; it's that innocent look."

Wow, _she_ was transparent!

"Don't worry, around here it's better to be transparent than not seen at all." Galatea said, as if she had picked the words from Flora's mind. "There's already a lot of buzz about you, Flora."

"Well, I see they don't call you _God Eye_ for nothing." Clare admitted. Flora had a feeling she would have more trouble remembering terminology and nicknames at St. Rabona's boarding school than keeping up with school work.

"Um, I don't mean to upset anyone... I don't want to cause any commotion." Flora said quietly.

"Get used to it, that's how things are here; I heard you've already butted heads with Luciela and Ophelia. That's odd; they don't usually leave any survivors."

"Come on, don't scare her." Clare groaned, "Don't worry about it, people will move on to more juicy gossip sooner or later. But if you don't want that, feel free to make a scene." Flora shook her head and went red in the cheeks.

"If you need any inside information, I'd suggest you go through me." Galatea said, "Not to seem arrogant, or anything, but I've got this place pretty much wired." Funny, as she said that Flora wondered if she deliberately meant to come off arrogant. "I'll tell you anything you want to know... for a price, that is." She gave a quick peace sign and slid off Flora's desk.

"Clare... what exactly does she charge... for her, er-hem, _services_?"

"I'd rather not know." Clare said, shivering, "I've heard it's pretty steep." Clare stopped talking and motioned to the front of the classroom, which fell silent as a young female teacher took over the class. Flora had expected an older instructor to be teaching arithmetic, but aside from a surprise teacher the class was still as boring as she would have expected. A few girls ahead of her were giggling and looking at the boys who were playing some kind of sport outside, tossing a ball back and forth between players and trying to tackle one another to the ground. Contact sports were something Flora could never understand, the premise behind rolling around violently in a muddy field trying to score points for bragging rights sounded like an activity cave men would be more suited for. Perhaps some of the boys weren't so far from cave men after all. Her mind was jolted into the present when a loud, rowdy female voice boomed down the hallway talking about something called _YOMA-SLAYER_. Clare responded beside her by sighing the name 'Helen' into her palm. She tried to pay attention until the class was done, a glorious moment marked by the conquering sound of the buzzer.

"You look like your doctor's just told you something you didn't want to hear." Clare pointed out as she folded her textbook shut.

"He might as well have if I'm stuck in this class all year. Do we do anything but review?" Flora asked as if she were pleading with a supreme being.

"_Review_? That was all the hard stuff we've been trying to tackle all year!" Clare said, "Just how old are you anyways?"

"Sixteen, but I had to skip a grade." Flora said ashamedly, "So that's why I don't really have any friends."

"Well you should be proud of yourself; you just might beat out Galatea for the top stop on the class list." Clare beamed, "Of course, I'd have taught you everything you know, but I think you'd like the credit, no?" She joked, as Flora blushed vividly. It wasn't her intention to beat anyone out of anything – she just wanted to get through the eleventh grade and her senior year. "We should get out of here before Raki comes back."

"He'll really come back after what you said to him?" Flora asked, "I don't think I could ever look a person in the eye again if they had told me they would feed me their shoes." Flora was envious of Clare's confidence; it was genuine and not overwhelming like Ophelia and Luciela's.

"Trust me; it's kind of like stepping in dog poop. No matter how many times you wipe your feet it never seems to go away." Clare said, "It's a curse."

"He seems nice enough." Flora squeaked,

"Ugh, if you want him, go for it." Clare huffed, "Raki is such a little boy he'd go after anything with breasts and no Y chromosomes." Flora, who wasn't exactly bouncy in the breast department, looked down at her body through the cardigan and collared shirt she wore. Her body must have been so ugly to look at, almost completely shapeless, toothpick thin and small, like she was just a little girl. Not at all like Clare's body which had obviously filled out to pleasantly attractive proportions – but without anything unrealistic or too large. Clare then appeared to get the feeling that she had insulted Flora and looked apologetically at her. "I don't mean you, don't worry. You're very cute."

She _hated _being called cute; it was like she wasn't quite pretty, but not unattractive. It was as if she was in attractiveness limbo, or had been called plain. Of course, she did not let Clare see her reaction, but inside she felt a little hurt.

"Um, thanks" Flora said, as the two made their way into the long hallway – a place where the majority of Flora's classes were held. At least it would be easy enough to find them from that day forward! The day, surprisingly, went by rather quickly after that first lecture. Flora found herself walking into the expansive dining hall and looking for a place to sit. Without Clare with her she felt a little lost, and with the massive hall filling up at startling speeds she wished her friend was somewhere nearby so she could cling to her arm and not be trampled. She had not even set her foot past the first table before someone bumped into her, nearly causing her to fall over. A quick, strong hand stopped her from falling, gently holding her arm and pulling her back to her feet. She looked up and into the eyes of the most handsome boy she had ever seen, a blond with hair only a little darker than hers with deep emerald eyes. She had seen him once before, standing at the fountain in the atrium in the old wing all by himself. She remembered smiling at him – did he remember her? He seemed a little lost in thought before he let go of her hand, or more accurately had it pried from hers by the girl at his side.

"Nicky, why're you still holding her freakin hand, you perv?"

"Be more careful of your surroundings, Helen, you could have knocked her over." The boy Flora assumed to be Nicholas said, "Sorry about that, she's a little preoccupied."

"It's... it's okay" Flora said breathlessly. He was _beautiful_!

"Preoccupied!?" The loud girl bellowed, "How am I supposed to mind my surroundings – no offence" Helen said, quickly double taking towards Flora before resuming her assault, "When you've broken your promise to me!?" Maybe that was his girlfriend? They certainly argued like boyfriend and girlfriend.

"I didn't break my promise, I tried to talk to some of them, but you gave me such a long list!" Nicholas said, "How was I supposed to get all that information before dinner today? I actually _go_ to classes; I don't have your kind of schedule!"

"Since when are you a goodie-two-shoes?" Helen asked, "I've been busting my ass playing _YOMA-SLAYER_ all day and trying to get better at it. Did you know there's a move that makes you invincible for a bit?" Flora's head perked up when the name YOMA-SLAYER was brought up. Her friend had played something like that back at her old school. The game was old, and probably an early incarnation of the series.

"No." Nicholas replied sourly, Flora standing between the two looking concerned as a child would be watching her parents argue. "But that's not the point..."

"The problem is, I can't freakin' nail it! It's like you're in battle mode and you've got to hit A and B, but wiggle the C stick or something... if I could nail that move, I'd be able to finally move up a rank!"

"Um, excuse me..." Flora asked, as Nicholas and Helen both looked at her like they had forgotten she was there. "I think you have to move the C stick forward and hold it there." Nicholas' jaw dropped and Helen played with an imaginary keyboard for several seconds before making the same expression.

"B-but how'd you... how the hell did you know that?"

"A friend of mine used to play a game like that, so I just thought-"

"Holy hell! Nicky, did you hear that!?" Helen asked, taking Flora by the shoulders, "This first year's the bomb!"

"I'm... not a first year" Flora sighed,

"Do you mind me asking what year you're in, then?" Nicholas asked with a stiff smile. It looked fake, but not sarcastic or harmful. If anything, it looked like he was in pain.

"I'm in the eleventh grade, I'm new." Flora replied, "I transferred from Rimuto Academy."

"Rabona's left butt-cheek – you ARE new!" Helen shouted before Nicholas could say anything. "Welcome aboard, what's your name?"

"F-Flora...?" She said shyly,

"Cute! I'm Helen, and this is _Bob_." Helen giggled amusedly, knocking Nicholas in the chest with the back of her fist. The boy sighed with his hand on his forehead, "Bob's a bit slow, so he might not ans-"

"I'm Nicholas; it's nice to meet you, Flora." Nicholas said, "Sorry for bickering like that in front of you... and Helen's sorry for bumping into you."

"What? Oh, yeah sure." Helen replied.

"Don't worry about it, but do you mind if I sit with you two?" The small girl asked timidly, earning a blushing face from Nicholas. What was he looking at? Was he looking at _her_? He was! But why? She had only so much as smiled at him, why did he look at her like that?

"Sure!" Helen shouted, "This way, kiddo!" Soon, the three of them were sitting at the end of a long table, taking food from the slow moving train of dishes rotating up and down the massive table. Helen seemed more content with taking food directly off of Nicholas' plate, specifically the bits he was trying to eat and was causing him great frustration – something Flora giggled at profusely.

"So, are you two dating?" Flora asked a little out of the blue, as Nicholas swallowed and shook his head.

"No, that'd-that'd just be weird." Helen said a little awkwardly, "Like dating your brother or something."

"I know, we argue like a couple, don't we." Nicholas said, not attempting to deny it. The two must have been close for a long time to share such an understanding. "Raki's always telling me stuff like that, so I think I've just started to believe them."

"You know Raki?" Flora asked,

"Yeah, do you?" Helen asked back,

"Not really, I only just met him. I know Clare, though."

"Clare... that poor girl." Nicholas said, "Raki's head over heels in love with her, apparently."

"I noticed" Flora replied, "Though I don't think the feeling's mutual."

"What'd she say to him today?" Helen asked, "She's usually pretty creative."

"Something about feeding him his shoes." Flora replied with a snicker. The two girls laughed, and Nicholas sighed. Flora learned about Raki a little more, that he was a close friend of Nicholas, and that the two shared a dormitory. Dinner was enjoyable and relieving, as Flora had thought she would have been eating alone. Had it not been for Helen, she probably would have been. She was having a hard time keeping her eyes off Nicholas, and though he looked a little depressed, he was very attractive. Flora felt a little embarrassed, she had never seen a boy like him before, and while she admired some famous men for their looks and charm, she had never met someone with the same effect on her. After dinner, Flora said goodbye to Helen and Nicholas and made her way to the female dormitories. She was both pleased and uncomfortable about her dormitory, mainly because she was the only one in it. There was no roommate yet, and as Flora finished getting ready for bed, she felt lonely. Lonely because she was a new student transferring in the middle of the school year, there was no comfort in knowing that everyone was in her position like they would have been at the start of the term.

She pulled the blankets around her and shivered in the cold. The room looked big from her spot in it, making her feel small and a little insignificant. How she wished Clare was her roommate, someone who she could trust and look up to. Clare probably found her a little irritating but Flora was determined to become closer to her, she had protected her, after all. And soon, her mind drifted back to Nicholas. Her face flushed, even though she was alone as she recalled his handsome face. He was not extraordinarily odd looking, and probably blended in fairly well. However, he stuck out to her. Maybe she would get more chances in the future to talk to him? What kind of person was he? How could she learn more about him without him knowing she was prying? She couldn't ask Helen, and Clare probably didn't know him very well. That left two people, Galatea; who still scared her a little, and Raki; who was his best friend.

"Nicholas" Flora said to herself; allowing her small mouth to get used to his name. She got a strange feeling in her chest, like she would be saying his name a lot in the coming future. Her first day at St. Rabona's was ending, what would the next day hold for her, and when would she see that boy again?


	3. Chapter 3

Author's note: If anyone wants to check out my deviantart page, there is a lot of character art from this story there. Just in case someone was wondering what some of the characters looked like. A drawing of Nicholas is there too. .com/  
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**Chapter 3 – Captain Sigh & Comply**

It was rainy outside when Nicholas woke up. His cell phone vibrated feebly under his pillow as if it thought it was an alarm clock. It was about the only thing it was good for anyways. Rain pelted the windowpanes on either side of the room; the window by Raki's bed was covered wholly by the blinds he ensured were shut tight every night, and for good reason. Nicholas had forgotten to close his window, let alone his blinds, and his actions resulted in half of his bed being a little soggy from the rain. _"Lame."_ He thought, and rolled over. There was nothing motivating him to get out of bed that morning, even the wet sheets of the right side of his bed failed to spark some initiative in the boy's head. The fact that the winter clock made the world outside dark at seven o'clock was not much of a pleaser either, because he knew it would not get any nicer out. With the coming of the afternoon Pieta, and by extension; St. Rabona's could get about a half hour of limited sun – leaving the rest of the day's sky colored with an uncertain and bland scale of grays. Nicholas spitefully shut his window and let his blinds fall for added dramatic effect as if to say '_yeah, take that, rain_.' Whether it was the sogginess of his bed or the irritating grumblings of Raki snoring across the room, Nicholas decided he would get out of bed. Sliding off his mattress, he headed for the bathroom. Grumpy or not, Nicholas needed to shower.

He shivered as the warm water hit his skin, which he had always thought was an odd reaction to warm water. Placing his hands up against the shower's wall he breathed in and out deeply. He could have fallen asleep right there, but he didn't want to drown in a bathtub with hardly a centimetre of water in it. Something about being the guy with the number one most embarrassing death on campus did not seem attractive. While on the topic of what was and was not attractive, Nicholas thought of Flora. The small girl was the epitome of cuteness, and Nicholas found himself wanting to hug her and buy her candy. Perhaps an odd first thought to have about a girl, but he didn't care. Her wavy, long blond hair and round grey eyes had embedded themselves in his memory, and he never wanted them to leave. Would he get to talk to her again? Maybe this time without Helen? As much as he appreciated Helen's company, she was a bad accessory to have clinging to him when he met girls – which was something he was not good at in the first place.

How many girls had been scared away by Helen's casual, off-color comments like _"Meet Bob, he may be a convicted felon but when he takes his medication he's friendly_" or _"Oh, and this is Bob, you may not recognize him because he's been in a psych ward getting himself evaluated for the last seven years."_ Oh, his absolute favourite Helen introduction must have been: _"This here's Bob, he's a cannibal but don't let that bother you; he's been fed."_ If he recalled correctly, the last one had made the cute brunette he was talking to yelp uncomfortably and slip away when he had turned to reprimand his grinning friend for her intrusion.

He closed the bathroom door behind him and with a towel around his waist he regarded his sleeping roommate with envy. _'How can he still be sleeping at this hour? It's nearly seven thirty." _Removing the towel, he was reaching for a pair of underwear when the door opened. Wait. The door? His head snapped towards the door frame to see (of course) Helen, standing shoulder with the part and ready to fight her way in as if she were expecting to meet resistance. Her face lost all confidence when Nicholas' naked body entered her line of vision. It was too early to be embarrassed, but with Helen eyeing him up and down he felt the sudden need to jump back into the shower. Her eyebrow arched questionably and Nicholas quickly pulled a towel over himself.

"Whoa, Nicky. Happy to see me?"

"W-what the hell are you doing here?" He asked in a frantic whisper so not to disturb Raki.

"What am I doing here?" Helen replied, "It's not like I just showed up, dude, I texted you before I came over. What're you doing up so early on a weekend anyways?" And the painful realization set in. His alarm had been the one to wake him up; it was a text message from Helen. Raki was sleeping in because it was Saturday and not Tuesday. Perhaps he had gotten his days mixed up after returning to school from his time off? Regardless, he had made a mistake.

"Well shut the door, you're letting the cold in."

"I can see that." Helen beamed, her eyes glued to just below his midsection. He grumbled as she laughed and closed the door. "Raki's still out, eh?" She asked rhetorically and poked the sleeping boy with her index finger.

"So what did you need from me, anyways?" Nicholas asked trying to hide the frustration he knew his voice carried, "It's bad enough that you were going to wake me up for it."

"Well you were up anyways, so there's no harm done, dude" Helen said, "Jeez; you're grumpy as hell in the morning. We're going to Pieta. We'll be there all day, so get your shit."

"...All day?" Nicholas asked, as if he was pleading for Helen to have a change of heart. "I'm not going to have to sit and watch you play YOMA-SLAYER for three hours again, am I?"

"Don't worry Nicky; you'll be able to go get me food when I get hungry, too."

"What an honor." Nicholas sighed, "Is there anything else you're planning on dragging me through today?" Helen looked a little offended, and Nicholas felt bad. He wasn't trying to offend her, but come on, YOMA-SLAYER? For three or more hours? Errand boy?

"Or I can just go to the pub by myself and spend the whole afternoon drinking and crying." Helen snorted,

"Either way it ends with me carrying you back home after curfew, doesn't it." Nicholas enquired, and Helen simply smiled, mock-innocence style in response. Nicholas liked that side of her, when she would pretend to be more feminine or bat her eyelashes at him in jest. He liked spending time with her anyways, but her 'cute-side' was something Nicholas could not say no to. "Alright," The blond boy agreed, "Now can I get dressed?"

"Yeah, go for it."

"... but you're watching."

"So, we're friends."

"... but you're a girl."

"So, you are too."

It was obvious Helen wasn't going to budge, which kind of worried Nicholas. Was he supposed to just shed the towel and get at it? Was she serious? He attempted to shift his underwear underneath the towel he wore so he would not have to remove it and bear all to the delinquent, but he could hardly get himself positioned properly.

"This would be like _me_ watching _you_ change, you realize that." He jabbed his thumb at himself and pointed at his friend as he spoke to emphasize the point.

"We can do that, too" Helen said suggestively, casting a quirky, lecherous smile at her thoroughly appalled male companion. She took several steps forward and silently traced her index finger down his chest, stopping at the towel that rested snugly on his hips. Biting her bottom lip and darting her light blue eyes up to meet his, she tucked her finger between the towel and his skin. He nearly _died_ when she burst out laughing and punched him in the gut. She turned around and walked to his door. "Aw, the look on your face – Nicky, you're such a perv!"

"That wasn't funny." He said, his red face concealed by the shirt he was pulling over himself.

"Are you kidding!?" she shrieked, earning a cantankerous growl from the sleeping Raki a little off side. The two left the dormitory and walked down the hall, passing the many doors of the other male students. Occasionally snoring could be heard, reminding Nicholas just how early it was without him needing to look at his phone.

"You know, you've got a nice body." Helen grinned.

"Shut up."

The two made idle chatter before reaching the main gate at the front of castle campus. The porter sitting in his post with his newspaper regarded the two oddly. Rightly so, two teenagers of the opposite sex leaving campus at an ungodly hour when they should be sleeping in was a definitely odd thing to see – didn't they sleep in until noon? The boy was dressed very boringly in a pair of somewhat form-fitting jeans and a generic long black pea coat. The girl wore a pair of black ankle jeans which she rode a little low, a cozy looking grey jacket and a toque.

"My, you two are sure up early." The old porter said. He must have been working at St. Rabona's for a long time.

"Just going into the city, we've apparently got a lot to do." Nicholas said blandly.

"Not going to get into any trouble, are you?" The man asked kindly. Nicholas gave Helen a pleading look, but she did not see it. Even if she had... would she have cared?

"Of course not!" She grinned with an unlit cigarette in her mouth. The man looked horrified as he opened the door for the two and they walked onto the cobblestone sidewalk.

"Helen, the man's like... seventy years old. You're going to give him a heart attack!"

"He'll be fine! I'm the one addicted to smoking, worry about me."

The fog settled low to the ground, allowing the two teenagers to see only just in front of them. After nearly walking into a lamp post, Nicholas convinced Helen to walk a little behind him.

"Again with the chivalry." Helen groaned,

"Just let me have my moment. You woke me up. And this way you won't be blowing smoke in my face." Nicholas retorted, "Let's go to the bakery first."

"Let's just go to the pub and score some dinner rolls." Helen proposed, taking a rather long sip of her cigarette.

"Uh uh. If I take you to the pub you're just going to start drinking and you'll do something vulgar in front of the children at the arcade." Nicholas said. "...Again." That was the last thing he wanted, dealing with Helen was troublesome at times, but dealing with a drunk Helen trying to take her pants off at the bowling alley was not only troublesome, but enough to force one to consider swallowing something lethal.

"Sheesh, fine." Helen mumbled to herself. They reached the outskirts of Pieta rather quickly, the cold motivating them to move quicker towards warmth and possibly, food. Passing some apartment complexes and small shops yet to open, the two made their way to Cicero, a small local bakery famous for their pastries. Helen het her cigarette hit the cold concrete terrace and crushed it with her foot. Nicholas held the door open for her, and she hopped inside and looked into the display cases eagerly like a small child would. "Aw, Nicky, dude, they have them!"

"They have what...?" Nicholas asked; closing the door behind him as the bell dinged above it.

"Double Cherry Delight Pastries!" She chirped back, "They always sell out early."

"Why?"

"If you buy two, you get a ticket." Helen smirked, "If you get a winning ticket you get a free pastry of your choice."

"Looks like you're in luck." He responded, "Good thing we got here early." Helen said nothing but smiled at him, turning her head to look at him. She _was _like a child. Wait, he knew what she was doing. Next would come the batting of the eyelashes and the 'pretty-please' routine. He could read Helen like a terrible book.

"Pretty please?" Helen asked while batting her eyelashes.

_"Ugh."_ He was surprised again at just how feminine she could be when she actually tried to be. It was always nice when she was not burping, spitting or punching him, too. "... Alright." Helen smiled, bounded over to him and wrapped her arms firmly around his waist.

"And here's your ticket... should I give it to her?" The old man at the bakery store front asked, holding a small blue paper ticket.

"It doesn't matter, if it's not a winning one she'll just put it in my pocket anyways."

"Thanks, Nicky!" He paid for her Double-Cherry-Whatevers and they left the store, intent on killing a fair bit of time until the arcade opened.

"... It isn't fair that you do that." Nicholas said, handing Helen her pastry.

"Do what, dude?" She asked, nibbling at the corner.

"You do the innocent thing, you're demands are harder to resist when you act girlier." Nicholas said, blushing a little. Perhaps he shouldn't have admitted that. Knowing Helen, she would turn up the intensity when it came to teasing him with her false-girly act now that his weakness had been exposed.

"Do you like it when I act like that...?" Helen asked. Damn it, she was doing it again!

"N-no, I like you no matter what." He replied, "What kind of friend would I be if I said I only liked you a certain way?"

"Chill, dude," Helen said with a grin, "Don't take me so seriously, it's dangerous."

"Tell me about it." He mumbled incoherently. The two walked, not really having any destination in mind. Nicholas was grateful it had not begun to snow; it was approaching December and was a miracle that it had not started yet. The small amounts of frost on the windows did not count. "Let's just keep moving, not much is really open and I want to stay warm."

"We can hug."

"Shut up."

Helen finished snickering at about the time they reached the arcade, which for some bizarre reason was open that early, and they went inside. The warmth of the electric heaters and warm video game machines quickly began their work on thawing out the two teenager's bodies. Nearly fluorescent light exploded all around them, flashing screens and blinking signs overtook their sight and loud, obnoxious music filled their ears. They walked to the back of the store to where the massive chrome plated game machine sat; the one Helen had spent countless game tokens on. _YOMA-SLAYER_ stood unoccupied, and was blasting its odd theme song and showing in-game clips and cinematic footage.

"Aw, _savage_!" Helen exclaimed, balling up her fists to show the sheer intensity of her excitement. "No one's playing!"

"Because it's eight thirty in the morning." Nicholas yawned and sat down next to his friend. He was less than pleased about spending the whole day in a smelly, begrimed arcade but what else would he be doing? He had to admit, it was better than doing homework. Helen did not waste any time starting the game, and within seconds she was at it, killing what Nicholas assumed to be 'Yoma' left right and center with a large sword. "I thought girls weren't supposed to be into this kind of thing?"

"Have you seen the rankings?"

"Yeah, I mean you've been talking about them non-stop for the past few days." Nicholas said, "Why's it such a big deal?"

"It just _is, _man! It's like, my pride or something. Hold on, I'm gonna try that thing the first year was talking about." Helen mumbled, pressing a sequence of buttons. She held the joystick forward with such ludicrous force Nicholas thought it would break and he would have to pay for it.

"She's in our grade." Nicholas said, "Remember?"

"You would know perv." Helen grinned back at him.

"What's that mean?" He asked, "I'm not a perv!" Helen went quiet for a little while, and Nicholas assumed she was concentrating, as her fingers were giving the command buttons of _YOMA-SLAYER_ no mercy. And for about nine-ish minutes, he sat there in the consol chair next to hers. He supposed there were two linked machines for cooperative or competitive play – at least that's what Helen had said before. It was relaxing having the silence between them; even if the clicking sound coming from Helen's feverish button-mashing was a little irritating. Helen mumbled to herself a little as she lounged in her consol chair, and Nicholas secretly found it very cute.

"So are you like... into her or something?" Helen asked vaguely and out of the blue. She was still watching her screen, apparently to avoid eye contact with her friend. Nicholas had turned a little red; so perhaps that was for the best.

"What?" He asked, although he had heard her perfectly. "You mean Flora?"

"...I know you think she's cute." Helen said, "Are you...?"

"...No," Nicholas answered, but he hadn't really thought about it. Maybe he shouldn't have answered right away? "Why... where'd that come from?"

"Nowhere; I guess." She replied nonchalantly, "I just didn't think she was your type, dude."

Wow. That was awkward.

"Uh" Nicholas breathed uncomfortably. Ever since Nicholas had known Helen she had been critical of the girls he had been close to, but they had never really talked about 'his type' or his crushes. He had only met Flora once, but he wasn't sure how he felt about her. She was really pretty, and very nice. That was about all he had gathered from meeting her, but something in him wanted to find out more. "Don't worry, Helen." Nicholas said, placing his hand on her tensed shoulder. She initially looked happy with it there, but turned to him with a raised eyebrow.

"Okay, okay, I get it." Helen said, her face slowly reaching the hue of her friend's. "Hands off, perv."

"What, are you jealous?"

"No." Helen said, "I meant who am I gonna ditch class with and complain to if you're off with some girl?"

"I don't ditch class." Nicholas said. "Want anything from the coffee shop?"

"Whoa, I didn't even have to ask. Killer!" Helen continued, "Yeah, like one of those strawberry latte things, the one you bought last time."

"Alright, so two strawberry lattes." Nicholas said, standing up and making for the door. "Be right back."

"Whoa, hold up," Helen called out, "You gotta get something different."

"But... why? You drank all of mine last time." Nicholas reminded.

"Yeah, but you have to get something new just in case I wanna trade." Was she serious? Of course she was. For a moment, Nicholas looked like he was about to protest, but he sighed and complied. Leaving the arcade he was reminded just how bitterly cold it was outside. How unfair, as soon as Helen demands the two of them go outside it starts to get cold. Not quite as unfair as his mother being taken from him, but still on the list somewhere. He had been trying to think of other things, and for once had succeeded valiantly, but Nicholas knew the reality of the accident was trying to work its way into his head. His eyes seemed a little more interested in where his feet were going than what he was about to walk into, and because he wasn't paying attention, the rough feeling of an old, smelly and probably unwashed jacket crashed into his face. He didn't even know he was walking that fast. He looked up, and the jacket slowly revealed itself with the word 'ST. RABONA'S' in block letters across its wearer's broad shoulders.

"What the hell?" A low, grumbling voice growled and Dauf turned around to look at Nicholas. He was a big guy, and a football player for the_ St. Rabona Beasts. _Despite his general unpleasant and hostile attitude, he didn't have much going for him in the ways of academics. "You want me to rearrange your face, Nicholas!?"

"I think it looks fine how it is." Nicholas sassed. The last thing he needed was to be assaulted today. He didn't really feel like having his face 'rearranged', but wasn't about to let Dauf use his testosterone driven prowess to make him run. Before Nicholas could open his mouth, it was slammed into by a rock hard fist, knocking him into the adjacent brick wall. He hit the wall and sort of bounced off it, back into the position he had been in before.

"How about now!?" Dauf barked. Nicholas rubbed the side of his face; it hurt like nothing he had felt before.

"Y'know," Nicholas wheezed, "I think it looked a bit better before, looks like you over did it a bit." What the hell was he doing? Why was he antagonizing him? Dauf, while being a little dumb, was Riful's boyfriend. Why she was with him he couldn't guess, but was there even a need to? Especially right then?

"You're done!" Dauf shouted, before Raki and Isley were at Nicholas' side. Where the hell did they come from?

"I think you've had quite enough fun for one day, Dauf." Isley said coolly, his serious eyes settling on the oaf with a look of sheer pity. Dauf was nothing more than a toy for Riful, something to occupy her time with. Nicholas supposed he did deserve a little pity; even if he had just punched his face all the way back to last Tuesday.

"Yeah, run on back to your playpen, didn't your mom tell you not to bully the other kids?" Raki interjected, pointing his finger in the direction of castle campus to add visual effect.

"You'll get it for this!" Dauf growled, "Just wait 'till I tell Riful!"

"Oh we can hardly wait. Off you go." Isley said with a quick dismissal. Dauf grumbled something and ran back up the hill, leaving the three friends in the cold. Isley inspected Raki's face, his long, silvery hair falling over his own while he did so. "Are you alright, Nicholas? You should sit down."

"I'm fine." Nicholas said a, little irritated. "What're you guys doing out so early?"

"Early?" Raki asked, "Dude, it's like noon." Nicholas was thoroughly surprised. Had he been in the arcade with Helen all that time? Doing what? Sitting there watching the screen of his consol try to goad him into paying for a game he completely sucked at? "Dude, that's gonna swell like a bitch, you should ice that."

"Raki, a little decorum, please." Isley smiled, "He has a point though, if you don't treat that you'll look like a chipmunk."

"If I put any ice on it right now I'll freeze to death." Nicholas replied. He wasn't really angry with Dauf, it was like being bitten by a dog that had been treated unfairly; he just didn't know any better. But it still royally sucked.

"So what'd you do to him to make him snap, anyways?" Raki asked, "I mean, he was totally pissed!"

"I walked into him." Nicholas answered dryly.

"Really? That's all?" Isley replied, "Maybe we should talk to the headmaster?"

"And get myself another one of these?" Nicholas asked, motioning towards his face spitefully. "No thanks, I'd rather not."

"Jeeze, what's his problem anyways?" Raki asked rhetorically. "It's not your fault Riful's got his balls in a vice." The brunette shook his head and sighed. "I guess with Riful's birthday coming up he's a little stressed out. What do you get for the girl who's got everything?"

"Nothing, and see how she likes it." Isley said, "I think it'd give her something to contemplate. She's actually very profound, despite her image and social status."

"Oh that's right, you two have a history, don't you?" Nicholas asked, rubbing his face a little. Raki's eyes bugged out and he inwardly gasped.

"W-what!? You tagged that!?" He bellowed, causing a few city folk to turn and shake their heads in disappointment. "I mean, she's a bit on the bitchy side, but she's about as hot as they come. Are you serious, man? How come you never told me!?"

"Raki." Isley began, and Raki went a little red. "It was early in the eleventh grade, only for a short while."

"Dude, I'm _so_ jealous. Both you two have such beautiful women around you, and the one I'm looking for won't even look at me of her own free will." Raki whined,

"Both of us?" Nicholas asked, "What do you mean by that?"

"Dude, Helen?" Raki reminded. "She's a bit of a badass and that's not really my thing, but come on; she's got a _bad ass...!_" Isley chuckled and Nicholas raised an eyebrow questionably. "... In a good way, you know." It wasn't that Nicholas thought Helen was unattractive. She was beautiful, even if her makeup was a little heavy, even if she was a little loud and full of angst. She was still Helen, one of his closest friends. And perhaps it was _because_ Helen was one of his closest friends that he could never think of her that way? With all of the times he had carried her home drunk after curfew back to castle campus it felt like babysitting sometimes, though as much as he hated to admit it, he enjoyed her company.

"She's very attractive." Isley seconded in his own modest, Isley-ish way.

"And completely not my type" Nicholas replied, as the three walked into the coffee store. "Helen and I aren't like that; we'll never be like that."

"And how does that make you feel?" Isley asked, "With such a beautiful young woman behind a veil of impenetrable friendship?"

"Aw, man, he's doing his _Romeo and Juliet lover-boy musician_ thing again." Raki griped and turned away to look at mugs. "Man, Cosmobucks has gotten so commercial lately." He mumbled to himself while examining some of the coffee shop's merchandise.

"It makes me feel like I've got very little time to get her the latte she ordered before she starts texting me and complaining." Nicholas pokerfaced. He didn't want to think about Helen that way; it would make it awkward between them if anything happened. The thought of kissing her entered his mind for a brief moment, and he had to admit it was more pleasant than the thoughts he had been having lately, even if she would taste a little like cigarettes. He stepped up to the counter and ordered a grandé strawberry latte and a caramel macchiato of the same size.

"Ah, so you're down here with Helen?" Isley asked, and Nicholas nodded.

"It's not like that." He said before anyone could tease him. "You never did tell me what _you two_ were doing down here."

"I've got some organizing to do for tonight's show." Isley said, "We're playing at the Four Leaf, its all ages, even if it is a pub." The Four Leaf was Helen's favourite pub; he was not surprised if she would drag him there later. Before Nicholas could say anything, Raki interrupted.

"Dude, your drinks are ready." The three left the store and parted ways, Nicholas returning to the arcade. If he stayed on his own for too long he would start to think about his mother again. That man who raised him hadn't so much as called to see if he was alright since the accident. He didn't even apologize. What kind of a man would ostracize his only son after such a tragedy?

_ "A coward." _Nicholas said to himself. He entered the warm arcade and went to the very back, where Helen said impatiently, scribbling notes down on a piece of paper. She was eating an apple as well, where she got it from or how she had found it wasn't important: at least it was healthy. She hastily stuffed the paper in her jacket pocket when she noticed him approaching.

"Nicky, what the hell happened to your face?" She asked, getting closer. She looked at it from a total of six angles before Nicholas responded.

"A lot." He said simply. "Here's your strawberry latte." He offered her the drink and she accepted it, still apparently baffled by the red mark that would undoubtedly swell in a while.

"Thanks, man." She answered, and took a sip. She looked up and just before Nicholas was about to drink from his she spoke up. "Hey hey, wait up. What'd you get?"

"A caramel macchiato."

"Can I have a sip?" Nicholas exhaled and passed the drink to his friend, who sampled it with a confused look on her face. She stood there after she had done so holding both drinks and archer her brow. "I don't know which one I like better."

"...Just drink them both." Nicholas said, giving up. Well, technically he never really tried to protest, so he was not giving up on anything, but it felt that way. She was probably going to end up drinking both of them anyways.

"Thanks, Nicky!" She spoke enthusiastically. The remainder of the day shuffled along at a hurried pace, despite the lack of physical activity. Soon, the two were back on castle campus waiting for dinner to start. The dining hall would not open its doors until they were ready to serve dinner; so many students had decided to camp out in front of the great wooden portal moaning hungrily like a pack of zombies. The two friends took their place: close enough to the doors but far enough away from the zombified hungry students. The smell of warm, fresh cooking filled the halls and the zombies groaned eagerly. A few of them even scraped at the door; for reasons unknown to Nicholas and Helen. She left him for the lavatory, and Nicholas stood inside the warm castle walls watching the dining hall's doors alone.

"H-hello again..." Flora peeped as she slid sideways, with her back against the wall towards him. Nicholas turned and gave a slight wave.

"Hi, Flora." Nicholas greeted with an odd pleasantry. "What exactly are you doing with your back against the wall?"

"O-oh, nothing" Flora said hurriedly and dismounted, a tinge of embarrassment in her voice. She stood shorter than Nicholas; shorter than Helen, actually. "What did you do today?" As Nicholas had expected, the conversation had started off superficial. They still barely knew each other, but he wanted to learn as much as he could from Flora. In that case who was better to talk to then Flora herself? What did he do today – was he supposed to say he spent the entire afternoon in a smelly arcade with Helen or getting punched in the face by a dullard with too much testosterone? "Nicholas – what happened to your face?" Apparently was going to say neither.

"Dauf." Nicholas sighed. "Dauf happened to my face."

"Dauf?" Flora asked, leaning in to get a closer look. "Who is he?"

"Riful's pit-bull of a boyfriend." Nicholas said grittily, "He's not a very agreeable person to talk to, but I guess in the end this was my fault." He _had_ egged him on a little bit. If Raki and Isley had not stepped in to save his ass, he would have been in for a lot worse. Flora looked a little mad; she was close to him now with her hands on her hips.

"How is that supposed to be your fault!?" She squeaked angrily, "Haven't you told someone?"

"No, it'd only make it worse." Nicholas replied, "Don't worry; I'll be avoiding him in the future. I've put him on my list of _people whose mothers I should never insult_ and I'm good with that." Flora tried her best to stay cross with him, and it was obvious, but she was defeated by a cheerful giggle that had seemingly snuck up on her. Suddenly, a female voice came from behind him, and it wasn't Helen's.

"There he is." As Nicholas turned around, he saw Galatea and her confident smile, as if she thought she had just done something magnificent. She pointed to Nicholas and before he could ask what was going on, he noticed a girl with long, dark hair. Her skin was light olive, and her equally dark green eyes made her stick out at St. Rabona's like the only potato not in the pot. Just her appearance outside the dining hall was enough for the place to fall silent, even the zombies outside the door shut their mouths for Riful, the current Queen of castle campus.

"I guess that makes up all the _Claymores_." Nicholas sighed, seeing Luciela and Ophelia standing slightly behind her. Flora squeaked and hid herself behind Nicholas' broad shoulders as Luciela spotted her and chirped in delight.

"Claymores?" Flora asked, "Why call them that?"

"Because they're about as friendly as one." Nicholas joked. In all honesty, he didn't even know where the name had originated. The Queen and Claymore tradition had been going on long before Nicholas had ever started school at St. Rabona's. Apparently it started decades ago, and their rules were very strict, like a super-exclusive club for only the most pretentious and self indulgent. "This can't be good. Why are you hiding behind me?"

"The same reason I've been holding my back to the wall... _her_..." Flora pointed to Luciela, who bounded over to her excitedly, her massive breasts bouncing dauntingly to and fro like the steel orbs of a medieval flail. She pushed Nicholas to the side instantly, knowing he would not be ready to defend against her and enveloped Flora within her bosom, curling her arms around her and purring like a giant overfed tabby cat. Nicholas could not help but shudder in sheer fright.

"Oh, little mouse, how I've missed you!" Luciela cooed, "You're just so damn cute!" A few hoots and whistles from the male cafeteria zombies gave the Claymore's the entrance they wanted, and Ophelia winked at them from the corner of her eyes. Riful did not move, her eyes remained on Nicholas, who looked up to notice her piercing gaze.

"Mm- mm!" Flora's muffled cries echoed in the background, as if to say 'Nicholas, be careful!' The harsh clicks of Riful's customized St. Rabona heels cracked like thunder on the stone floor as she made her way towards the blond boy. Nicholas stood firmly, and crossed his arms over his chest for some sense of security as the Queen halted her advance before him.

"Nicholas, right?" Riful asked. There was a deceptively innocent pitch to her voice, as if she were imitating Flora to a very successful degree. However, her short skirt and generous cleavage served as a deadly reminder that he was not dealing with Flora.

"Yes, and you're Riful." Nicholas answered. He had half a mind to try and convince Riful to give Dauf a shot in the nuts for him, but decided against it. While she was being decent to him he figured he should be decent in return.

"You're right" Riful smiled playfully, and without any warning, her hand was at his face. He recoiled slightly, earning a few chuckles from the cafeteria zombies, but relaxed when he discovered Riful examining him instead of hitting him. What the hell was going on? She had picked up on the uncomfortably unfamiliar look on Nicholas' face but was without a doubt paying to mind to it.

"Um, what're you..." Nicholas began, but Riful interrupted.

"I apologize on Dauf's behalf. I'll have to talk to him later, he's been upset lately." Riful said, "I'm sure you can understand." Nicholas blushed and gave a slight nod in agreement.

"Girls," Riful said pleasantly but with assertion, "We're leaving." Flora could he heard gasping for hair as he face was expelled from Luciela's unfriendly chest. Riful turned to walk away with Ophelia and Luciela bounced back from whence she came to join them. Soon, they left the hall.

"Sooo, what'd I miss?" Helen asked, emerging from the bathroom. Everyone was silent, and Flora, whose face was beat red, smiled and waved. Riful had always seemed like such an indifferent figure, like she didn't care about the majority of the students she walked on. When she was standing in front of Nicholas she had seemed so human and vulnerable, he had wondered if she was alright.

But no matter, there was not time to think on it as the bells rang signalling the start of dinner time. The massive doors swung open, and in flooded the hungry students, Nicholas' own growing hunger was about to be sated.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4 – The Courageous Mouse**

By now, Flora had pretty much figured out a solid strategy to avoiding the boobs of doom. Luciela would bound through a crowd looking for something to annoy or in Flora's case: squeeze to death, and in that situation Flora could use her small size as an advantage for the first time in her life. Sometimes ducking behind a taller, unsuspecting student was all that stood between freedom and certain suffocation.

Why the over-affectionate tabby cat was so obsessed with the new girl was beyond her, and nor did she really care, so long as she could breathe.

Flora didn't make friends easily, but Luciela was not a girl Flora wanted anything to do with none the less. She poked her head out of her dorm room, the one she shared with no one and turned it to both sides.

Left side: check. Right side: check. The coast was clear.

She closed the door after seeing a glimpse of her lonely dormitory: one side of the room filled with her things, the other practically barren. She had originally wanted a roommate so badly, someone to talk to at the end of the day. She had wanted someone to talk about school work to, to talk about boys to, to study with or go out on the weekends with. Now, however, her outlook on the roommate situation had taken a drastic one-eighty, and she was more than happy to be left alone.

_Endocentric_, a word a councillor had used to describe her popped into her head as she walked down the stone hallway. Ever since she had been called that, she had dedicated her time to proving her old councillor wrong. But part of growing up is denying something an adult told you when you were young and realizing its truth later.

Oh, how she hated being wrong. Growing up and being praised by all the professors and tutors she had known for her academic brilliance had failed to bloat her sense of confidence, instead it only helped turn her into more of an outcast. Every school she had attended had been the same so far, just another big fancy building full of snobby girls and meat-head boys. Girls who gossiped, lied, cheated and boys who fought, teased and otherwise ignored.

"_But St. Rabona's isn't going to be like that!"_ Flora said to herself as she rounded the corner into the gymnasium. She slung her duffle bag over her shoulder and walked into the large open room.

There were nets placed up dividing the gym in two. It was empty save for a disgruntled looking woman in the corner who was squeezing volleyballs with an angry expression. She seemed to notice Flora immediately and grunted as she approached.

"You in my class?" The muscular woman asked. Her hair was tucked behind her ears but still hung quite low. Despite how tough the woman looked, her hair still shone with the pretty platinum color that was so common around this area. Was this her instructor?

"U-um, yes, I think so," Flora stammered, "Where is everyone?"

"Name?" The instructor said, ignoring Flora's question.

"Flora."

"I'm Coach Undine," she barked, "and you're late. The other girls are already changing."

"I'm sorry," Flora squeaked, "W-where is the change room?" The Coach growled and pointed to a set of double doors behind Flora. The Mouse hurried along without another word.

Just because Flora was a girl did not mean she was comfortable changing in front of her peers. The other girls were strangers, and probably more filled out than her. It made her feel awkward; the looks on the girl's faces made sure of it. As she silently slipped by some half-nude bodies, she settled into a corner and was practically ignored under all the yelling and giggling of her class mates. Placing her bag down on the bench, she began to wonder if there would be anyone she could meet.

Why wasn't Clare here? Her first friend at St. Rabona's had helped her so much already; it felt odd to be without her.

"Excuse me, you're in my spot." Flora didn't turn around at the sound of another voice.

"But there wasn't any room left…" Flora replied, as the change room fell silent. Needless to say, it was not a comfortable silence. It was a silence that told Flora she just said something she shouldn't have, to someone she shouldn't have.

Hush whispers darted all across the small, stone change room before Flora reluctantly turned around. The girl before her was tall, dark haired and lightly tanned. She stuck out like a painfully sore thumb among the girls of St. Rabona's, and even after being at school for not even a full week, Flora knew this girl was Riful. She had seen her once before with Nicholas, and heard stories about her. Riful was the girl no one messed with, she was the Queen of St. Rabona's. Flora half expected Riful to shout _'off with her head!'_ But fortunately no such order was issued.

"I… I'm sorry… I," Flora was stuttering again, attempting to find the right words, but none came. Riful seemed to be enjoying Flora's social suicide for a moment before granting her a quick and merciful death.

"That's fine; we can change together." Riful said crisply, and stepped close to Flora. Slowly, the room's banter reached normal levels, albeit cautiously. Flora tried not to speak to Riful, who was eyeing her with intent. "You should hurry up and change, or you're going to be late, new girl."

"Y-yes, I know, b-but," Flora was beat red. She looked away as Riful's unbuttoned blouse was pulled away revealing her ample chest and curves. She did not want to see, but there was nowhere else to look.

"Shall I help you?" Riful asked, and Flora shook her head. "Or are you embarrassed?"

Was she being toyed with again? Of course she was. Ophelia and Luciela were Riful's right and left claws, of course she had been told about her. It wasn't fair, all Flora wanted was to be accepted by the other girls or left alone. Was it too much to ask? Why did she have to be teased? She only noticed Riful leaning in close when she attempted to meet the Queen's confident gaze.

"Do it. Strip. Don't be afraid." Flora had never known girls like this before. Where she came from they were all just as sheltered as she was, all as naïve and equally ostracisable from normal girly cliques. Riful was suggestive, self-assured, and possessed the body of a model. When the Queen had said 'don't be afraid' she really meant that Flora had every right to be terrified.

Reluctantly, because there was no other option, the Mouse began to disrobe. Her cardigan sweater slid off her arms and was placed on the mahogany benches that traced the outline of the room. Soon following the sweater was her tie, her shoes, her stockings. Riful was pulling on her gym shorts by the time Flora began to unravel her skirt, and the beating of her nervous heart was so loud in her ears she did not hear the change room go quiet again. Soon, her shirt was on the bench as well. She had never been in front of anyone in her undergarments other than her mother before. Riful cracked a smile at her.

"You're cute."

"Who let a little boy into the girl's change room!" A girl teased from behind Flora. At first she reached for the nearest piece of clothing to cover up, but stopped when she noticed the speaker pointing a finger at her and the other girls laughing.

Riful's playful smile seemed to egg the crowd on, even as she walked closer to the girl who was pointing at Flora.

"Hilda." Riful said, quietly, and the girl turned to her Queen obediently, with a smug grin on her face.

The sound of Riful's palm striking Hilda's cheek shut everyone up instantly. Even Flora felt bad for Hilda, who was completely stunned.

"Your behaviour is atrocious. Flora is our new classmate. Could you imagine being in her position?" Riful asked, as Hilda stammered for a suitable answer. There was none.

How did she know her name? Flora had not told Riful anything. In fact, she had not said more than ten words to her – why was this so called terrible Queen defending her? Flora was not about to complain, however, as she was ready to hide behind anyone at this point.

The gym class proceeded without much incident, and Flora had no trouble finding volleyball partners to practice with. In fact, the other girls who had eyed her with contempt in the change room were flocking to her for partnership. All it had taken was Riful to get angry, and everything changed. Was that the power of popularity? Recognizing its benefits was difficult, as it had only ever been used against Flora in the past.

She found she was laughing and joking with the majority of the girls in her class until the period had ended. As the massive bells atop the highest tower resounded throughout the stone halls of castle campus, Flora wondered just what had happened in the change room to make the other girl's attitudes shift so drastically towards her. Had it really just been the slap?

Clare had been eyeing her with one eyebrow higher than the other. All arithmetic Flora had apparently been "Off in space" according to her friend Clare, who had been completely stumped without Flora's notes to copy from.

"Sorry, I don't know what's come over me," Flora apologized, blushing a little. Near the front of the class, Galatea tapped wildly on her mobile with alien speed. She turned, smirked at Flora, and turned away as a few other girls winked at both of them and chuckled. Clare, who had seen all of this, let her jaw hang open.

"What. The. Hell."

"What?" Flora asked, bewildered.

"What have you done to them?" Clare asked in a whisper, "It's like you cast some kind of anti-bitch spell on them or something!"

"I don't know, Riful slapped this girl who was making fun of me and everything changed…"

"Riful? Like, Riful of West Academy? Like, the Queen?" Clare continued, "How is it you haven't told me about this yet?"

"It only happened last period." Flora replied, "But Riful was really nice to me, though a bit strange, but I was really surprised…"

"So am I." Clare replied, "Be careful, Flora, Riful's _always_ got a scheme." Clare seemed distracted by the boys outside the window. It seemed their physical education class was taking place on the soccer-field per usual. Raki could be seen jumping up and down waving and yelling at Clare, who pretended to ignore him.

"I'll try."

Flora felt a little divided over the events of the day. Everyone she had met so far had told her at some point just how much trouble Riful was. Some stories were from painful personal experience and others just mere rumour. But all of the stories seemed so far-fetched and fabricated, and Flora had met Riful and was treated well by her. If Riful turned around and stabbed her in the back it would ruin everything, and defy the very rule she applied to the meeting of a new acquaintance. That rule was thus: If the acquaintance treated her kindly and was nice and respectable, Flora could trust them.

She could trust Clare, Nicholas, and to an extent even Helen. But could she trust Riful? Or for that matter, could she trust Ophelia and Luciela? She doubted the latter party would bother her if their Queen dealt the same punishment to them as she did to Hilda. The thought stayed there at the back of her mind like an angry sore, threatening to make itself worse if she dare not think about it.

She had heard rumours that Riful's birthday party was coming up soon. Everyone was invited to her birthday parties, and from what she had heard they were supposed to be fun, massive and slightly taboo. The exact details were unknown, though Flora had heard a girl say someone was permanently paralyzed from the waist down last year.

Something in the Mouse had changed, and it was exciting. She wanted to try new things, and boy, did she ever want to go to Riful's party. Clare wouldn't be going, that much was obvious from the contempt her voice held for the Queen. Maybe she could tag along with Nicholas and Helen?

The young instructor was mumbling something about negative integers when a window beside Flora exploded violently, shooting glass all around the back of the classroom. A collective feminine shriek filled the halls as the girl's arithmetic class rose from their seats and checked themselves to ensure there was no damage. A soccer ball rolled across the floor.

Flora and Clare, who were directly beside the window, were miraculously unharmed, though a growing tempest took a turn for the worst as Clare spotted Raki with his hands over his mouth in shock. Her temper got the better of her as she went to the window.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING, RAKI!" Clare bellowed, "YOU COULD HAVE FUCKING KILLED SOMEONE! USE YOUR GOD-DAMN BRAIN YOU LITTLE SHIT!"

It was safe to say both Raki and Clare were in trouble and, to Clare's demise, the two subjected to cleaning the glass from the arithmetic classroom together. Flora volunteered to stay behind; partially because she wanted to help, but also because she wanted to be there just in case Clare attempted to end the boy's life. Sadly, she was denied her request and sent on her way with her other classmates.

Leaving the classroom, she was immediately swallowed by several classmates led by Galatea. They were talking so fast and so much it took Flora several seconds to realize they were talking to _her _and not each other.

"Like, oh my God, right?" One girl on her left said, letting Flora remain ignorant to whether or not her babble was a statement or a question. "You could have like _totally_ been cut by all that glass!"

"Or like _totally _smacked in the head by that soccer ball."

"Aren't you like, _totally_ mad at that boy?"

"Yeah that was like, _totally_ mega-stupid, right?"

All at once the girls stopped bickering and looked at Flora as if they were expecting a reply. Galatea smirked ahead of them, a smirk only Flora could see or understand. She was showing her what it was like to be noticed.

"Yeah it was pretty stupid…" Flora replied meekly, but the girls remained with their eyes locked on her as if they didn't comprehend her words. Until Flora added the suffix: "_Totally."_

At once the girls all started up again, shouting and hooting about things Flora had never understood or even cared about in her life. Boys, fashion, famous pop stars, alcohol, parties, thong underwear and the decreasing acceptable length of school kilts. She was lost in the meaningless dialogue until Galatea directed the other girls to walk on ahead. The small clique continued down the hall as if two members of the group hadn't stayed behind.

"What was all that about?" Flora asked, as Galatea flicked her platinum hair.

"That," She began, "Is what it's like to be noticed at St. Rabona's."

"I think it was a bit too confusing for me." Flora admitted with a slight smile.

"You'll have to get used to it. Rumour is that Riful's got her eye on you." Galatea said wittily. Flora almost asked how the know-it-all had heard about that, but remembered who she was talking too.

"What does that mean, should I be afraid?" Flora asked,

"Well, yes and no." Galatea replied, "But your little world's about to change."

"Oh quit trying to freak her out, Galatea!" Helen shouted boorishly before appearing at Flora's side. Galatea raised her eyebrows in disapproval upon the arrival of the loud girl.

"Hi, Helen." Flora said.

"Whaddup, biatch?" Helen grinned. "Yeah, keep walking!" She shouted after Galatea who had begun to make her way down the hall.

"Um, is that wise?" Flora asked. Helen looked back in disbelief.

"Wise? Dude, I'm not afraid of her! Or of Riful, or anything!"

"Actually, she hates Styrofoam." Nicholas said, announcing his arrival at Helen's side.

"Only the sound it makes! It's just not natural!"

Flora giggled in response. The two made her laugh; they seemed like such good friends.

"So I heard about the accident, are you okay?" Nicholas asked, "You should probably go down to the infirmary regardless."

"I'm not hurt. Thanks, Nicholas." Flora replied sweetly.

"Raki's such a tard." Helen sighed, "What was he doing?"

"I'm sure I'll hear all about it later." Nicholas groaned unpleasantly. He seemed to be bothered by a lot. Actually, Nicholas seemed to be bothered by just about everything. Flora had yet to hear him talk about one thing he liked in the time she had known him. What a sad boy. A sad _hot_ boy.

"What are you two up to now?" Flora asked,

"Well, lunch period usually means I either follow Raki around in his never ending search for Clare's affection, or I get dragged around castle campus by her." Nicholas said, pointing his thumb at Helen.

"He loves it, though." Helen countered.

"Oh it's the bomb." Nicholas smiled sarcastically. He received an elbow to the side that made him buckle slightly, but was not seriously hurt.

"Now that you've given me a reason to go to the infirmary too, let's take Flora there." Flora was about to protest, but Helen's protesting drowned hers out.

"Oh dude, come on, she's fine." Helen groaned, "I hardly even pushed you, you pansy!"

"Come on, Flora, it's this way."

Flora had realized that the second Nicholas would stop complaining, Helen would start. But Nicholas didn't seem to listen, and Helen definitely didn't listen to his complaining either. They were the oddest teenagers Flora had been around in her whole life. How could they have developed such a seemingly close and understanding friendship if they just complained at one another without listening to what each other had to say?

The stone walls and flooring changed color to a brighter, milkier tone. The infirmary was part of the new wing and had been remodelled recently and outfitted with some pretty impressive medical equipment. Because of the sheer size of St. Rabona's the infirmary was staffed by a full force of nurses and unit clerks. Several doctors also worked regular hours there when they were not teaching medical classes to specialty students.

Of course, Flora had been given a full tour by Head Mistress Ilena before she had enrolled, but it was much more fun being in tow of Nicholas and Helen, who added their own comical comments and side-notes on the areas of St. Rabona's that they passed.

"Once, there was this kid who swallowed an orange peel from a punch bowl who choked to death here." Helen said, to Flora's dismay.

"He… he died?" Flora said breathlessly, "When?"

"Wasn't that Riful's birthday party?" Nicholas said, "And no, he didn't die. He just passed out."

"That's what I meant." Helen said, waving her hand in dismissal at Nicholas who sighed. He did that a lot.

Flora knew she was unharmed. The Nurse looked over her and raised her brow as if to ask _'Are you done wasting my time?' _And Flora had to admit she was thoroughly done with wasting her time. She felt intimidated. Nicholas felt tired. Helen felt hungry. The three left the infirmary and in the hallway all pitched in their ideas about what they could spend the rest of the day doing. It _was_ the end of the week after all.

"So what do you do around here for fun?" Flora asked, and beamed with pride as she continued. "I used to do extracurricular homework on my days off back at Rimuto Academy."

Helen facepalmed with heroic ferocity.

"Well it depends what your notion of fun is, I suppose." Nicholas said. And he was right. Flora hardly knew anyone at St. Rabona's, and though she had made plans with Clare she doubted her short-tempered friend would be in the mood to go out anywhere.

"Let's go drinking." Helen proposed.

"Now that sounds like a great idea." Nicholas replied dryly, "But I've quit."

"I didn't ask if _you_ were going to drink, it'll just be me and Flora." Helen snorted.

"Um, I don't…" Flora protested in a half-mumble.

"Not everyone's as rowdy as you, Helen." Nicholas said with a dry smile.

"Not unless you put a little liquor in you!"

"I'm not putting liquor in anything." Nicholas deadpanned.

"… So that's a _no_ to the bar then?"

"Yes. That's a _no_ to the bar."

"… Okay."

"Um, I have an idea…" Flora piped up under the chatter. Nicholas and Helen both turned in surprise to see Flora's raised hand as if she were asking a question in class.

"Goddamn, she's so darn cute." Helen said shaking her head as Flora blushed a vivid tomato red.

"How about you two show me the arcade?"

Nicholas looked as if he were about to be sick for a moment, but regained his composure to comply.

"At least it's not the bar." He replied. And with that, they left.

Flora really had no interest in the arcade, plus she had heard it was smelly. But all the girls had been competing on the game _YOMA-SLAYER _for the high score, and a part of her wanted to get in on the action. Perhaps her new found popularity would lessen some of the flak she would receive if she were to score well. But who was she trying to fool? Every video game Flora had ever tried, (she could count them on one hand) she had failed at miserably.

Well, whoever had told her the arcade was smelly was definitely trustworthy. As the Mouse walked through the doors the timid nerds gathering around the booths eyed her up and down as if they were going to eat her next. Luckily Nicholas was there to stop them from devouring her. But Nicholas wasn't exactly very intimidating or very strong looking. Helen would have been a more reliable body guard, had she not already run off to the back of the room to locate _YOMA-SLAYER._

"She already ran off?" Flora asked Nicholas as they stood just inside of the doorway.

"I've seen her get through this place inebriated." Nicholas said to the Mouse's disbelief.

"You make her sound like a drunk!" Flora giggled.

"Well, she just plays hard." Nicholas said, "And it's funny to laugh at… but I'd never let anything bad happen to her."

"You really care about her, don't you?" Flora asked.

Nicholas went red.

"N-not like that. Don't get any ideas." She giggled again, he was so defensive. "Now we should probably go looking for her or she'll come after me with a tire iron. I'm serious. She's done it."

The bright glowing, flashing lights of the arcade game _YOMA-SLAYER_ illuminated the back of the room as Nicholas and Flora drew close. Helen was already sitting on one of the two linked console seats, waiting impatiently.

"Alright, Flora, show me your moves!" Helen barked.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5 - The Impending Birthday**

A fistful of something-or-other exploded on the side of Nicholas' head.

_"Cool."_ He thought, sarcastically. He was feeling a little ill.

They were pamphlets of some kind, and as they fluttered to the ground Nicholas read one. Invitations to Riful of West Academy's birthday party. Of course, being the ostentatious girl Riful was widely known to be, she had scattered them all around castle campus via t-shirt cannons. Everyone was invited. That was not to say everyone came, as there were some who were simply invited to be ridiculed. Nicholas, thankfully, was not one of these unfortunate souls. He was more or less unknown by most student cliques, and thus was gracefully blessed with not having to deal with all the drama the cliques had with one another.

Of course, this also meant he was horrendously unpopular, and he had to admit it bugged him sometimes. He might have not existed at all to some. But in the end that was probably best.

Nicholas, after collecting the other fifteen-or-so pamphlets balled them up and tossed them into the nearby recycling bin. And then, feeling as though his good deed was done, was about to turn and walk out of the courtyard when a familiar old voice stopped him in his stride.

"Nicholas." It was Father Vincent: The Headmaster of the boy's division of St. Rabona's. Probably the last person Nicholas wanted to run into, save for Dauf, of course. That guy was just a plain douche. No two ways around it.

"Hello Father Vincent." Nicholas said remorsefully. "Love to chat, but I've got class."

"Oh, of course." Vincent said, and Nicholas turned his back to walk away. "Just once question, if you don't mind. How have you been since you returned to school?"

He _had_ to ask. Seriously? Father Vincent was a caring man, and he did his job well. In fact, he did it too well. Nicholas did not want to think about his recently deceased mother any more than he had to, or his drunkard of a dad. He knew Vincent probably wanted to talk about both of those things, which ranked the Father pretty high on the list of people Nicholas really, really didn't want to talk to.

"I've been fine." Nicholas said, trying brushing off the conversation as fast as he could. He couldn't let it get too close to him; he wasn't ready to talk to anyone yet. And nor did he want to start now.

"Have you been seeing the school councillor? Miss Miria is a very caring woman; you really should talk to her."

"Yeah… I'll have to make an appointment." Nicholas lied.

"Alright, well, off you go then." Father Vincent said with a smile as Nicholas walked away. He knew the Father wasn't stupid, his lies were transparent. But he didn't care; he had avoided the matter for today. Unless one of Helen's off-color comments were especially pressing today, he'd have it pretty easy. That is, unless he vomited first.

"Yo, Nicholas!" Raki shouted from much to close behind him, and struck Nicholas firmly on the back. Nicholas felt his stomach lurch and as Raki's hand slapped his back, the blonde turned to a waste bin and fired a volley of last night's dinner from its mouth. It wasn't pleasant, as vomiting never was. It seemed to last forever, acidic currents splashing up his throat like a river of lava. He stood dazed for a few seconds as an uncomfortable silence overtook both boys.

"…Shit." Raki grimaced after he regained his composure. "That was pretty gnarly."

"I _feel_ pretty gnarly." Nicholas said, "But we've got to take notes today, or I'm going to have to do a makeup assignment when I fail this upcoming test."

"Relax, Bro, I'll take care of it. You can copy my notes later." Raki said cheerfully. "Just head back to the dorm, I'll let the teacher know."

"… I don't feel comfortable leaving my grade for this course in your hands." Nicholas said with a frown. He felt as if he were about to vomit again.

"Looks to me like you ain't got a choice, Nick." Raki said with a raised brow. "You look pretty green."

Nicholas tried to ignore his friend's poor choice in grammar, and not let it disturb the fact that he could potentially be placing the fate of his English grade in Raki's less than capable hands.

"Okay, okay. I'll head back."

But of course, the chances Raki would actually bring notes for Nicholas to use were so slim it may as well have been nonexistent. Actually, it would be a miracle if Raki even thought to take notes at all. But it was the thought that counted, right? Raki never did have a great short-term memory.

On his way back to the dorm, Nicholas noticed a peculiar blond girl scribbling feverishly into a notebook. It was Flora. But why was she out of class? Well, he had to walk past her to get to his dorm anyways. She looked up in fright as she heard someone coming.

"No need to be afraid." Nicholas said, waving his hand as if to dispel any shock or fear the smaller girl may have been feeling. "It's about time for class; shouldn't you be waiting for a teacher or something?"

"Oh, I lost track of time." Flora admitted ashamedly. Nicholas was sure Flora had never missed a class in her entire life. How dare she be late; bad Flora! No biscuit! "Nicholas, you look positively green in the face!"

"So I've heard." Nicholas said bemusedly. He could feel something rumbling in his stomach and working its way up his throat. He was going to vomit again soon. And that was bad. What if he vomited on Flora? He'd ruin their short lived friendship, and she'd never want to talk to him again. He was a threat to everyone around him, as all those who came within five feet of him were in immediate danger of being blasted by projectile vomit. He needed to remove himself from the halls right away, before he painted someone in regurgitated food.

Suddenly, Luciela rounded appeared at the end of the hallway holding a t-Shirt cannon. There was a split second of morbid realization between the three teens, as Luciela, who was undoubtedly 'spreading the word' for Riful's birthday party wrapped her finger around the trigger.

"Run." She grinned, and launched a volley of pamphlets straight into Nicholas' gut. He vomited at once and hit the floor, gasping for air. Luciela bounced over his prone form and took aim at Flora, who was scampering away between the columns of the hallway.

"Run, Flora!" Nicholas cried out.

"I'm not going to hit you anywhere important, just the legs!" Luciela laughed and fired another shot that exploded against a stone column, missing Flora by an inch. "That way, you can't run off!"

She screamed. Was this really happening? Nicholas couldn't bring himself to stand, as the wind had been knocked out of him.

"Nicholas, sorry, but I'm running!" Flora said as she sped off out of sight. Luciela dropped the T-shirt cannon and bounded after her excitedly.

"Come back, mouse!"

Just as she left, Ophelia had appeared: t-shirt cannon in hand. Nicholas felt like he was in some kind of horror third person shooter game.

"Oh, you're the boy Dauf knocked out the other day, aren't you?" Ophelia asked coldly.

"He didn't knock me out." Nicholas said, struggling to his feet. Ophelia raised her weapon.

"Have you heard? You're invited to Riful's-"

"Nicky! Get down, you dipshit!" Helen cried, rolling into the hallway from the right. She scooped up the discarded t-shirt cannon as both girls shot pamphlets at one another. The volleys exploded between them, showering the teens with invitations.

"Helen?" Nicholas asked, "What's going on?"

"It's the _Claymores_, they've gone nuts!" Helen said, grabbing Nicholas' hand and running with him. She was practically dragging him away from Ophelia, who was hastily loading another shot. "Someone gave all of them t-shirt cannons and a whole shit-load of birthday invitations to shoot at people!"

"What!" Nicholas shouted, "Why? That's insane!"

"Get back here, losers!" Ophelia cried angrily from the hallway that Helen had dragged Nicholas from.

"We've got to get out of here!" Nicholas suggested, his nausea causing him to stumble to and fro. "Let's head for the cafeteria!"

The two ran, soon they encountered t-shirt cannons at every hallway, every exit. Pamphlets were everywhere, and everyone was shouting. Soon, the massive cafeteria double-doors were in sight. As Ophelia fired volley after volley, Helen ran out of range and Nicholas dove into the nearly empty cafeteria, slamming both heavy wooden doors after them. The teens braced the doors with their backs and slumped to the ground.

"I think I'm about to have an aneurism," Nicholas groaned,

"You're welcome for saving your sorry ass," Helen panted. There were only a few students in the cafeteria, and they all seemed completely terrified. The place was silent, save for the muffled cries and ruckus that spilled through the cracks in the door. Stone walls were thick enough to mute most of it, however.

"On the bright side, my adrenaline is pumping so hard that I don't feel like puking anymore," Nicholas said. He tilted his head back against the door and closed his eyes.

"Well that's a plus. Hey, wanna get your drink on?" Helen asked, producing a flask from inside her un-tucked blouse.

"What?" Nicholas asked, "No, I would not like to get my drink on. And where did you get that?"

"Oh, right." Helen said, taking a hearty swig and belching before she answered. "I decided to wear a bigger cup size so I could stash my shit in my bra. You know, it's practical and stuff." The look on Helen's face was honest.

"So what do you have in there?" Nicholas asked, with one brow raised.

"Wanna find out?" Helen scooted her bottom over to bring herself closer to Nicholas, who said nothing, but turned red. She bit her bottom lip as he attempted to speak.

"… You mean… I can… your…"

Helen laughed and punched Nicholas in the side playfully, causing something to shoot up his oesophagus into his mouth. He stealthily spat it out off to the side.

"_Wow_, I was just kidding you perv!" Helen guffawed mightily as Nicholas massaged the area in which he had been struck. "I swear; it gets you every time!"

"Shut up." Nicholas hissed and closed his eyes again. He was still feeling pretty ill. The punch didn't help.

"Dude, you were eyeing me up so bad, I couldn't resist. You're such a guy," Helen chuckled, reloading the t-shirt cannon with a fistful of pamphlets. "So you actually think I'm hot, I guess."

"No comment." Nicholas didn't see Helen match his shade of red, as his eyes remained closed and his brow furrowed. Helen didn't say anything for a little while. A few quiet conversations could be heard from the corners of the cafeteria, where students seemed to be taking refuge from the carnage outside. Nicholas' groans drowned them out.

"Dude, Nicky, stop groaning," Helen demanded.

"But I feel like hell," Nicholas groaned on, "Was that lasagne we ate last night actually horse manure?"

"It was so good! That actually made you sick?"

Suddenly, an announcement came over the loudspeakers.

_"This is Headmistress Ilena; all students in the halls are to stop their actions immediately. Any student that looks remotely close to trouble will receive detention for the remainder of the month, or worse. All students will obey the patrolling staff and clean up the mess you have all made in the halls. That is all."_

"This has been one of the lamest days of my life," Nicholas sighed. "Now I've got detention for a month."

"Nicky, you are so melodramatic that it's not even funny." Helen said, come on, we've got to hide somewhere until the patrols stop." She stood up and offered a hand to Nicholas, who looked at her accusingly.

"No. I refuse," He declined. "You've mucked about with my day enough already. I'm not going to evade the law with you, because it's irresponsible and it will only get us in deeper trouble."

"Seriously, Nicky, you've got to trust me," Helen insisted. "I'm a seasoned pro at this!"

"No! I feel like hell, I'll probably end up vomiting again. I'm not moving!"

"So drink some water and stop being a little bitch!" Helen tossed him the flask she had been drinking from. "You'd seriously rather get detention for a month than skip with me and avoid the whole thing?"

Water? Nicholas had really expected it to be alcohol. It wasn't that he looked down on Helen, it was just expected. Even as Helen told him it was water, Nicholas still expected it to be alcohol. He took a sip. Water.

"Are you okay now?" Helen asked, grabbing his hand. She pulled him to his feet and waited for him to down the rest of the flask, which she then took and shoved back into her blouse. "Now will you follow me? We're gonna get busted unless we get the heck out of here. Come on, gimpy, let's go!" Nicholas nodded and the two slipped out of the cafeteria and down the hall full of frozen students. It was creepy. The staff could be seen a ways off, reprimanding students and taking information. Helen and Nicholas moved through the courtyard undetected.

They ducked behind a fountain, in which Nicholas washed his face.

"Dude, we're golden. All we have to do is go up that staircase and we're in the dorms," Helen smirked.

"I have to admit, you're pretty good at this," Nicholas muttered.

"I know, right?" Helen said, "How… uh… how are you… are you alright?"

"What?"

"Are you feeling alright?" Helen asked, slightly out of character. It wasn't that Helen didn't usually care; it was just that she cared about other things more.

"Yeah… I'm fine now."

"Good, then we can make a break for it." And they did, just before things got awkward. The two truants silently snuck up the staircase and were just about to walk into the dorm halls, when Headmistress Ilena rounded the corner. Helen and Nicholas shot themselves back several steps to avoid detection.

"What! She's coming this way!" Nicholas whispered rather loudly.

"Shit, I totally thought she'd be going straight for Riful," Helen said, "We're effed…"

"In here!" Nicholas hissed and pulled Helen (as gently as he could) into a closet and closed the door. The two realized rather quickly that it was the smallest closet ever built by man, as they were squished together so tightly that Nicholas could feel the flask stashed in Helen's bra digging into his middle ribs. They also noticed it was almost pitch black, and only a sliver of light peeked through the door, making only the shininess of each other's eyes visible.

"Nice," Helen nodded triumphantly, as if she had thought of the hiding spot herself. In the dark, Nicholas rolled his eyes. Headmistress Ilena could be heard talking harshly about detentions, suspensions and expulsions and all other forms of punishment she could dish out. The staff members who walked with her agreed with her every statement as their many heels clicked closer to the closet.

"I can't believe we made it," Nicholas whispered, "Sorry for being such a tool earlier."

"It's alright. You're kind of always a tool, so I'm used to it," Helen replied with a wink.

"But they're so close…" Nicholas' said. "Ah, hell, this is no good… we've got to stay quiet!"

"Yeah, I know, dude, I am." Helen said, "You're freaking out, it's all under control. Stop taking such huge breaths, you're chest is squishing me!"

"Shit, shit, shit, shit!" Nicholas hissed, "If we're found we're going to be in a lot of trouble. It'll be worse than a month of detention."

"Dude!" Helen interjected, as the footsteps and voices grew louder. "Stop talking! Ilena's gonna cut your balls off if she finds us, so take that into consideration."

"Oh good God, you're right," Nicholas panted, "Ah, we should just turn ourselves in."

"What! No!" Helen hissed back, "Are you freaking nuts!"

"Yeah, that's the sensible thing to do!" Nicholas said and reached for the door. He was babbling about being caught and just about to start apologizing to the Headmistress when he discovered he could no longer speak. He physically could not open his mouth. It wasn't as if the cat had got his tongue. In fact, Helen, quite literally, had his tongue. And it was being wrapped up in her tongue.

"What the FFFFUUU!" Nicholas' brain screamed. He resisted at first, attempted to flail, but was restricted in the closet. Also, he failed to stop kissing Helen back. There was no way in hell that this was actually happening. He was on the verge of being suspended and humiliated, and was having the hottest make-out session of his life inside of a closet with his very attractive best friend. She was pressing herself into him, though gentler than before, but the flask was still there. He gave up and stopped resisting, his body relaxed, and she withdrew softly and slowly from his mouth. There was just enough light to see her lips, glistening with their mixed saliva.

They were silent for a few seconds. The Nicholas opened his mouth as if to scream, but Helen jammed her hand against it just as the Headmistress and her staff passed by.

"Dude! Quiet!" Helen hissed, as if nothing awkward and extremely hot just transpired between them.

"What-what-why-how!" Nicholas stammered, "Why did you do that!"

"Because you were freaking out, about to ruin everything, and get us both expelled!" Helen shot back, "They do it all the time in movies, so I thought it would work. Turns out it's my day. We need to stay put for a few minutes at least."

Another moment of silence. Helen went on planning their escape like the truant she was, but Nicholas couldn't focus on a word she was saying. They had just kissed. What the hell was he supposed to do now? It had been the strangest day of his life, so far. He had known Helen for so long, they had been friends forever. Did she expect him to be okay after that?

More footsteps walked by.

"Damn, it looks like we're going to have to wait here longer than I thought." Helen said. "Nicky, what's up? You haven't said anything for a while…"

"I'm, uh, I'm okay."

"Dude, your cell phone is digging into my stomach." Helen pointed out.

"What do you mean? I left my cell in my room," Nicholas replied.

"Oh, then never mind. It's probably just your…" Helen's eyes bugged out at her sudden realization. She smacked her forehead into Nicholas' mouth in an attempt to flee, but could not move.

"Agh!" Nicholas moaned in a mixture of sudden pain and pleasantness as Helen moved against him.

"Oh my FREAKING GOD, get that thing away from me!" Helen cried, forgetting to keep her voice down.

"I would, but I can't move!" Nicholas said, "What did you think would happen if you kissed me like that!"

"You could have just _not_ gotten a boner!" Helen barked,

"It doesn't really work like that!" Nicholas retorted, "Stop moving!"

"Ew, no, you perv!" Helen squirmed.

"Seriously, stop moving!" Nicholas moaned,

"Oh GOD, no! It's getting bigger!" Helen cried out, "Why, why why!"

"You're gonna give us away with all you're screaming!" Nicholas whispered,

"Then do something about it!" Helen ordered, and Nicholas kissed her again.

"Mmhat washn't reawy what I meant…" Helen tried to say. But it worked. And it was awesome.

Nicholas wondered if he was doing alright, as Helen didn't give him any indication that he was a good or bad kisser. He had no actual idea of what he was doing, and no practice, either. She was more or less leading, and he was fine with that. Her hands moved up and down his chest, down his back, up to his shoulders and into his hair. He cradled her face with one hand as the other slid down her chest and to her side. The other hand followed suit on the adjacent side. Helen moved away from him slightly and pulled the flask and her cellphone from her blouse, and with a playful smirk, dropped them on the stone floor. When she placed herself against him again, she was soft and not poking his ribs.

With their hands all over each other, the two continued on for what seemed to be an hour or so, which marked the second longest time Nicholas had been in a closet. The first had been his fifteenth birthday, where a girl he liked told him to wait in the closet until she had "slipped into something more comfortable." Of course, she never came, and left Nicholas to cry himself to sleep in the closet, where he then spent the night.

Nicholas shook the traumatizing memory from his mind and focused on the present. Helen's legs moved apart to cushion Nicholas' leg between her thighs. She moaned as he moved against her, and gently bit his bottom lip. They were sweaty, it was very warm in the cramped closet. Until that day, Nicholas had not thought Helen was a sexual being. He was pleasantly proved wrong. Soon, the sliver of light had vanished, and the two knew it to be night time. Nicholas pulled away from Helen's lips as she brushed the blond hair from her face. They were both breathing heavily, their hearts pounding.

"It's dark out… we should probably get back…" He said.

"What? Oh, yeah, yeah you're right," Helen answered. "Wouldn't want people to come looking for us, right?"

"Yeah," Nicholas said, and followed with an awkward laughter.

There was another brief silence.

"Fuck." Helen sighed, leaning her head down on Nicholas' chest.

"Fuck what?" Nicholas replied, "What's wrong?"

"It's totally gonna get awkward, isn't it?"

"You mean between us?" Nicholas asked, stupidly. He knew that was what she meant.

"Yeah, numbnuts. Between us. Friends don't make out in a closet for two hours and then just carry on like nothing happened." Helen remained with her head bowed down. She was right.

"Is that what you want us to do?" Nicholas asked.

"Shitballs, you're already talking like you're my boyfriend." Nicholas held the door open for Helen, and the dishevelled teens waddled into the hallway. For the first time in a while, Nicholas saw Helen in the light. She looked beautiful, but like she had been outside in the wind.

"I've never heard you say the word _boyfriend_ before," Nicholas replied. "It sounds nice."

"I'm freakin' thirsty," Helen grunted, but was turning her face away on purpose to hide a smile. The two walked down the hall towards the dormitories.

"Come to my dorm for some juice?"

"Aw, hell, now you're acting all sweet and boyfriendy…"

"Well, I think there had been a lot of sexual tension between the two of us," Nicholas chuckled. "To be honest, anyways. You couldn't feel it?"

"What the hell?" Helen laughed back, "You're such a creeper. I totally knew you were checking me out all those times, by the way."

"Oh no, I've been found out." Nicholas replied, as he came to a halt. Helen stopped as well. "Here's your room…"

"Huh? I thought we were going for juice at your room?" Helen inquired.

"You actually want to?"

"Yeah, I do." Helen replied, as she held up her hand. "Wait here for a sec." She ducked into her door, slammed it, and made several rummaging noises. Nicholas was grinning like an idiot by himself in the hallway. He suddenly performed a mighty, victorious fist-pump. No one was there to see, it was harmless.

"What the heck are you doing?" Raki asked from a few feet away. He was with Isley, some guys Nicholas only faintly recognised and a couple girls.

Nicholas went beat red again. "A fly, swatting a fly… with my fist. You know. It's more accurate."

"Okay…" Raki trailed off.

"Why don't you guys go on, we'll catch up with you in a minute?" Isley said to the other with them, and they obeyed.

"So where were you?" Raki asked, "They were handing out detention slips like it was nobody's business!"

"Oh, I was making out with Helen in a closet," Nicholas blurted before he could stop himself.

"WHAT!" Raki choked,

"Oh, that's lovely, Nicholas," Isley replied, "Good for you. It seems you had a better time than we did."

"I-I didn't mean to just say it, I'm a bit shaken up, so…" Nicholas stammered. These were his friends! Why was he so nervous? Isley was very soft spoken and never looked surprised. That made him the easier to talk to out of the two of them.

"It's quite alright. I take it that's why you're waiting at Helen's dormitory?" Isley asked.

"Yeah, we're just going to go back to my dorm for some juice." Nicholas blurted again.

"WHAT!" Raki seemed to recuperate only in time to be surprised again.

"Oh, that sounds fun." Isley just seemed to get it. That was nice. "I'll take Raki of your hands for the evening."

"Thanks, Isley, that would be nice."

"Wait, what's happening? Why can't I hang with Helen and Nicholas?" Raki protested.

"You're sleeping at my place tonight." Isley replied. He waved to Nicholas and the two began to walk away.

"But how come I don't get to sleep in my own bed?"

"One day, you'll grow up and these things will make more sense to you, Raki." Their voices faded.

Nicholas took a deep, nervous breath. He was never nervous around Helen! This was so weird. She emerged from her dorm holding a duffle bag stuffed with random items. It was unzipped. She was still wearing her uniform.

"What did I miss?" Helen asked, "Ready to go, Nicky?"


End file.
